


The Right Partners

by redlipstickblackdress



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Humor, Humorous Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Language, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-08
Updated: 2013-07-08
Packaged: 2017-12-18 03:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 26,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/875209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redlipstickblackdress/pseuds/redlipstickblackdress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers meets a young lady who reminds him a little bit of home.  Her best friend catches the eye of Thor, but she finds herself relating much more to Loki.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Tony Stark is Steve's Wingman

Steve couldn’t believe Stark had dragged him to this club. Even when he had lived back in his own time, Steve had never been much of a dancer, and he just felt awkward watching drunk people grind on each other in the dark room while dubstep blasted lazily. 

“Hey Caps, you do know that having fun isn’t illegal, don’t you?” Tony asked after casually sipping his drink and nodding to people who were staring at him. Stark didn’t actually do anything at these clubs except stand around looking rich. Steve didn’t know how many drinks they’d had, he just knew that Tony kept putting them on his tab. 

“Fun is a little different where I come from,” Steve replied matter-of-factly before politely asked the waitress for another drink. Then he sat back watching everyone. Two girls in low-cut tops and short skirts walked by, smiling at the two men. Steve just nodded at them and looked uncomfortably down at his drink. 

“How much longer are we going to stay here?”

“Just chill – oh, wait, you already did.” Steve rolled his eyes as Stark made another joke about the period during which he was frozen. “Go ask a drunk college girl to teach you how to dance.” Steve sighed and looked away from Tony – clearly arguing with him was going nowhere. “Hey, look,” Stark continued, “what about Gidget over there?” 

“Who?” Steve had the feeling Tony was making another pop culture reference he didn’t understand.

“Oh, right, I keep forgetting, gramps. Over by the bar, the one who looks like she just walked off the set of Casablanca?” 

Steve looked around and saw her. She looked about five feet tall and really did look like she had just appeared out of the 1940s. She was wearing a black-and-white polka dot dress and had her hair in victory rolls, patriotic red lips, and a white flower in her hair. She looked as awkward as Steve felt. He knew that she was from this futuristic time that still felt new to him, but to Steve, she looked like home. 

“Are you going to stare her down from across the room with your super soldier vibes, or are you going to actually go talk to her?” 

“She doesn’t look like the type to want to be approached by a random man.” Steve knew that a lot more females were interested in him after the experiment than they ever were before, but he still felt like a scrawny asthmatic around women. Besides, he didn’t want women to be interested in him because of his muscles. 

“This is physically painful for me to watch. Follow.” Stark started walking toward the young woman and her friend, and Steve had no choice but to follow him – there was no way he was going to let Tony speak to these women unsupervised. As soon as they had reached the women, Stark was shaking hands with the taller one. 

“Hi, I’m Tony Stark, yes, the billionaire, I’m sure you’ve heard of me.”

“Nope. I’m Gwen,” she replied as Tony stared in disbelief that a woman would be unfamiliar with his billion-dollar empire. He let it go this time – he had a reason for coming over.

“That’s a lovely name, Gwen. And you?” he asked the shorter girl as she looked at him uncomfortably. 

“Lacey.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Lacey. This is my friend Steve. Steve, this is Lacey.” With that, Tony walked away, leaving Steve alone with the two girls.

“Um. Hi.” Lacey said shyly. 

“Ma’am,” Steve said with equal awkwardness as he nodded at her. 

Gwen looked between her friend and Steve, then said, “I have to go do a thing,” and walked away quickly. Lacey followed her friend’s back with a pleading look as she realized she was being abandoned. She turned her attention to the guy in front of her, wearing khakis, a plaid button-up shirt, and black boots. He was enormous.

“Uh…do you like fondue?” Steve asked. 

Lacey gave him a surprised look, but said, “Fondue is delicious!” 

“I’ve never had it.” 

Lacey didn’t really understand why he had bothered to bring that up. The two stood, awkwardly looking at their feet. Then Steve glanced at her to see if she thought he was crazy. She looked so tiny as she shyly looked up at him. 

“I’m sorry about my friend,” Steve apologized, not knowing what else to say. “This isn’t the type of place I usually frequent.”

“Oh, me either!” Lacey said. “I feel like I’m dressed…incorrectly.” 

“I think you look beautiful. I mean, your dress is lovely…I mean, not that YOU aren’t beautiful…you are very beautiful, but there’s nothing wrong with your dress…” Steve decided it would be best if he stopped talking. Lacey couldn’t help but smile. 

“Thank you.” 

“Are you enjoying your evening?” 

“If I can be honest, I’m much more in the mood to go to the drive-in, but my friend and I just figured we’d try this place out tonight. It’s not our usual type of place.” 

“I never made it to the drive-in.” He expected her to laugh at him like everyone else usually did. Not a lot of people in this new time understood the environment he came from – during World War II, there wasn’t a lot of time or money for luxuries and leisure. But she didn’t laugh at him. 

“Oh, well, it’s great! You should try to make it there sometime. The closest one plays old movies, and it’s my favorite.” She knew she had just met him, but she hoped he picked up on the hint. 

“Thanks for the recommendation.”

This girl didn’t seem like anybody else he’d met since being thawed out. She seemed to understand him. However, he didn’t have much more to say. 

“I believe I’d better get back to my friend before he accosts any more charming young ladies,” he explained while Lacey smiled understandingly, “it was lovely to meet you, ma’am.” 

“It was nice meeting you.” 

She was smiling as he walked away, although there was a hint of something else in her voice…disappointment, maybe. Maybe she wasn’t as interested as he thought she was. When he reached the table again, Tony looked almost impressed…until he asked how it went. 

“Can we leave yet?” Steve begged. 

“Aw, man, I set that up perfectly. What did you do to screw it up?” 

“Screw what up, Stark? You introduced me to a young lady; I spoke with her and left her to enjoy the remainder of her evening.” 

“It looked like it was going well,” Stark continued, ignoring him. “You didn’t ask her who The Beatles are, did you?” 

“No…” He had been introduced to them last week.

“Did you tell her you were friends with my father? Talk about your time as a USO girl? Oh!” Tony snapped his fingers. “You didn’t ask her what ‘getting laid’ means, did you?” 

“What? No!” Steve blushed a little, having the distinct feeling that Stark was referring to something having to do with bedroom activities.

“Then what?” 

Steve sighed, realizing that Stark wouldn’t leave him alone until he recounted the entire conversation to him. 

“I don’t know, I asked her if she likes fondue—“

“Mystery solved.” 

“I told her she looked nice, asked her if she was having a nice time, she said she wanted to go to the drive-in, I said I hadn’t been, she said I should go, and then I came back over here.” 

“Please tell me you at least got her digits.” 

“Her what?”

“Her phone number, shield skull. You didn’t get it?” Steve looked at him blankly. “How did a woman choose you over my father? Okay, let’s get out of here, it’s getting past your bedtime anyway.” 

****

Gwen went back to Lacey when she was alone. 

“He was cute! Please tell me you gave him your number.” 

“Um…” Lacey looked embarrassed, “…no.” 

“Seriously? Why not?” Gwen demanded. 

“He didn’t ask for it?” 

“So? Ok, details! What did you talk about? Did he smell good? Did he buy you a drink?”

“He wasn’t close enough to smell. No drink. I tried to get him to ask me to the drive-in, but he didn’t take the bait. I don’t think he was into me…” 

“Um, I was watching from across the room. He was definitely into you.” 

“Do you think so?”

“Trust me,” Gwen said confidently, adjusting her red dress across her ample chest. 

“Well, it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’ll see him again in a city this big. You ready to go?” The girls grabbed their purses, closed their tab, and gossiped about the evening as they went home.


	2. In Which Steve Unexpectedly Encounters Lacey Again

Steve was still thinking about Lacey when he went to bed. He never thought he’d be interested in someone since he lost Peggy, but there was something about her that he couldn’t get out of his head. He began to think he was crazy – after all, he’d only talked to the woman for about five minutes, but she didn’t seem like everybody else in the year 2013. He’d seen people dress in fashions from the past, but she was the only one so far who seemed like she could have actually come from his time.

The next morning, Steve and Thor decided to take a walk.

“Let us stop in here for Midgardian coffee.” 

Thor pointed to The Dusty Cover, a small bookstore and coffee shop. A bell jingled as they went inside. Steve and Thor walked to the coffee counter, where the barista’s back was turned. She turned around and there was a clattering sound as she dropped the spoon she was holding. Steve lifted his eyes and was surprised to see the girl from the club the night before. Her hair was softly waved and she was wearing red lipstick again, but she had on a black t-shirt with The Dusty Cover logo on it, a black fitted skirt, and an apron. She hastily picked up the spoon before walking up to the counter and smiling.

“Hello again,” she said, “Steve, right?”   
|  
“Yes, ma’am, Steve Rogers.”

“Lacey McMannis. It’s nice to meet you, again.” 

“I am Thor Odinson, and I would like to ask a question regarding the list of beverages posted above your head.” Lacey directed her attention to Steve’s friend, giving him a strange look as he asked, “What is a lah-teh?” 

“A latte?” Lacey looked amused, but kept her cool. “It’s espresso and steamed milk. You could also put flavors in it, like vanilla, hazelnut, anything you’d like.”

“I would like to try one. May I have a lah-teh with this nut of hazel in the smallest available portion?” 

“Absolutely.” Lacey gave him an even weirder look before redirecting her attention. “For you, Steve?” 

“Regular coffee. Medium.” Steve pulled some cash out of his pocket and handed it to her. Their hands touched when she gave him the change, and if Steve didn’t know better, he would have said Lacey almost blushed. 

“You got it.” 

Lacey grabbed a small mug and a medium mug from the stacks behind the counter and began steaming the milk for Thor’s latte. When she finished, she handed them the mugs and they sat at a nearby table. Lacey couldn’t help but notice that they were both huge – at least six feet tall each, and with enormous biceps. Steve’s muscles were evident under his plaid button-up shirt, and his friend’s biceps were hard not to notice in his white t-shirt. Both men were incredibly attractive. Steve had an angular, clean-shaven jaw with neatly combed blond hair, and Thor had a trimmed beard and long golden locks. Steve caught her eyes and grinned, and she looked away, embarrassed that he caught her looking at him. She directed her attention to a couple that had just come in and were ordering.

“Does your coffee have, like, caffeine?” 

The bleached blonde girl tilted her head toward her beefcake boyfriend’s shoulder and twirled her hair around her finger. Her eyes tried so hard to look like there was substance behind them.   
“Yes, but you can order any of the coffee drinks with decaf coffee.” Lacey clearly was trying not to laugh, but her eyes were giving her away. 

“Can I just have a chocolate banana milkshake?” 

“Of course! What size?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know…a small is too small, but a large is too big. I don’t know what size I should get.” Steve had to suppress a chuckle from escaping while he listened to this conversation.

“We actually have a size in between small and large.” Lacey said seriously. 

“Oh! That sounds perfect!” Her lunk of a boyfriend paid and Lacey made their drinks. 

By this time, Thor had finished his latte. “This drink – it pleases me.” He raised his mug. “ANOTH—”

“No, no no.” Steve grabbed the mug out of Thor’s hand and brought it to the counter. “Lacey, would you mind getting my friend another one of these? Maybe a large this time.”

“Sure thing.” When she had finished, Thor sipped his second hazelnut latte happily.

Steve watched as Lacey cleaned up behind the counter. She was pretty, but there was something else about her – she seemed content to appreciate the small things in life, while still seeing the big things that needed to be done in the world. The bell on the door jingled, interrupting his thoughts, and in walked a young man with oily hair that flopped in his face and a yellow polo shirt with the top few buttons undone. He reeked of some kind of cheap body spray. He walked up to the counter and Lacey turned around and gave him her standard smile. 

“What can I get for you?” 

“Woah.” The guy gave her body a long, lingering look. “Are you on the menu, because I’d like to put you in my mouth.” Steve’s head jerked up and he saw Lacey’s smile fall. He stood up. 

“No, I’m not on the menu, I’m also not a drink or any other object, I’m a human being, although I realize it takes one to know one, so I understand your confusion.” 

“Don’t be like that, babe, I know what you want with that whorey lipstick.” At that remark, Thor stood up too. By this time, Steve was standing right behind the guy. He tapped him on the shoulder. The guy turned around to see a blue plaid wall. 

“Didn’t your mother teach you not to talk to a lady like that?” 

The guy looked a little intimidated, but raised his chin while his inferiority complex raised his testosterone level. 

“Yeah? Well your mom must have been a slut. Why else would you defend some little slut?” 

“That’s enough, son. The only thing keeping me from teaching you a lesson is that I don’t want to get violent inside of this nice coffee shop,” Steve said calmly. 

“Yeah? Well I’m not going anywhere.” The guy snarled, getting in Steve’s face. 

“I have no problem teaching scoundrels not to disrespect young maidens.” Thor got closer and pulled back a fist, but Steve held him back. 

“Look, we don’t want to cause any trouble. Why don’t you just apologize to the young lady and leave?” Steve reasoned. That was when the guy punched him in the jaw. Steve’s head turned, but he looked pretty unfazed. Thor clenched his fist and growled, but again, Steve held him back. 

“Get out,” Lacey said to the sleazy guy. 

“You can’t kick me out!” 

“Actually, I can. I own this coffee shop, you are on my property, you just assaulted one of my paying customers and caused a public disturbance, and I just asked you to leave. If you don’t, I can have the cops here in two minutes.” 

The guy looked from her, to Steve, to Thor, then back to Lacey, and realized he’d been defeated. He muttered something under his breath, then stormed out. Steve let Thor go, and Thor followed the guy out, then came back a second later and calmly sat back down in front of his latte. Lacey glanced out the window and saw the guy lying on the sidewalk with a black eye. She turned to Steve and smiled. 

“Thank you. Your friend, too. Is your jaw okay?” 

“I’m fine, I was just doing what any respectable person would do. I don’t like bullies.” 

Thor came over and set his empty cup on the counter and smiled at Lacey. 

“Thank you for defending me.” 

“’Twas nothing, fair maiden.” 

“Really, I want to thank you properly…how about another cup of coffee, on me? Or a book, you guys can pick out a couple books, any ones you like, no charge.” 

“You are too kind, lady Lacey, but I will not take from your establishment what is not rightfully mine.” 

“You don’t owe us anything, ma’am.” 

Lacey glanced between them and looked slightly disappointed. She snatched a card out of the business card holder and scribbled something on the back. “Well, if you change your mind, you can come back in any time and take me up on it. Or if you need anything else, my personal phone number is on the back.” She handed the card to Steve. He glanced at it and smiled, then nodded. 

“Thanks. I think we will be back, Miss McMannis.” He smiled at her over his shoulder before leaving, the bell jingling behind him. Gwen came in and tossed her keys behind the counter. 

“Where have you been?” Lacey demanded. 

“Traffic.” Gwen shrugged. 

“You missed it! Guess who came in here?” 

“Um…Benedict Cumberbatch.” 

“Hahahahaha! No. The guy from the club last night!” 

“No way! The one with the nice ass that was all over you?” 

“He was not all over me.” Lacey insisted, not denying the ass comment.

“Um, if we’re talking about the guy who was just in here with the plaid shirt, yeah, he was all over you,” a random girl said as she was leaving. Gwen looked at her best friend triumphantly. 

“He was not all over me.” Lacey repeated. She then told Gwen the whole story.


	3. In Which Lacey Discovers Steve's Identity

Thor and Steve arrived at Stark Tower and joined the rest of the group. When they got there, maybe just to prove to Stark that he wasn’t a failure, Steve held up the card Lacey had given him. 

“What is that? Is that...did you get a phone number?”

“I did.”

“You actually got a girl to give you her number? Who?”

“The girl from the club yesterday.” 

“I’m impressed, Rogers,” Stark nodded approvingly.

“Really?” 

“No, not really.” Tony Stark never changed. There was an alarm sound and a holographic screen appeared. 

“Great, it’s the Fury Phone.” Nick Fury appeared on the screen. 

“Avengers. I’m glad you’re all together. We have a problem. There seems to be a huge-ass robot in the city. I think you should take care of that.” 

“We’re on it,” Steve assured him. 

*****

“Lacey, get in here and look at this!” Gwen grabbed her popcorn bowl. 

“What?” Lacey ran in and flopped next to her friend on the couch with a glass of Moscato in her hand. 

“There’s a giant robot attacking the city and there’s a team of superheroes called The Avengers saving everybody!” The two girls watched for a moment. 

“Isn’t that the same group that saved New York about a year ago when we still lived in Colorado? I don’t watch the news much, so I don’t know that much about it, but there were a bunch of flying robot bugs attacking or something?”

“Oh, you’re right! I think it is the same group! It’s good to know they’re still around.” Gwen shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

“Wait.” Something in Lacey’s voice made Gwen turn to look at her.

“What?” 

“That guy, in the red cape with the hammer…that’s the friend Steve was with in the shop today.” 

“You’re kidding! He’s kind of hot.” 

“Oh my gosh, right? No, but that’s totally him. How many guys do you think look like that?” 

“Okay, fair. A superhero beat up a creeper outside our shop! That’s awesome!” 

That was when Lacey noticed the guy in red, white, and blue. It was his steel blue eyes and square jaw that gave him away. Lacey watched as he helped a little boy out of a mangled car, then grabbed a round shield with a star on the front out of the side of a bus it was wedged into. 

“That’s Steve.” 

“What? Where?” 

“With the star on his chest. That’s him. I recognize the eyes. And the jaw. And maybe the butt a little bit.”

“Lace! I’m so proud of you!” 

“This is a problem! What do I do if I see him again? I can’t just be like, ‘so, are you a superhero?’” Lacey emphasized her point by taking a sip of her wine.

“We’re here with Steve Rogers, known as Captain America, the World War II hero who was frozen for seven decades after saving the world from a Nazi terrorist. Rogers was originally rejected by the military due to health issues, but was injected with a serum that gave him the health and strength he needed to become a soldier.” Lacey spit out her wine while the anchorwoman interviewed him, his mask removed. 

“Wow, it’s a good thing that was white wine, or we’d have an interesting carpet stain to explain to our landlord.” Gwen took Lacey’s wine glass from her. 

“Seventy years? I gave my number to a World War II vet – slash – superhero today!” Lacey was in shock. “What am I supposed to even DO with that?” She asked Gwen.

“Go out with him!” Gwen said in a ‘well, obviously’ type of voice. 

“He hasn’t asked me.” 

“You know what I mean.” Lacey knew things would be a little awkward if Steve stopped by the coffee shop again – not that he would.


	4. In Which Steve and Lacey Discuss His Career

When the bell jingled, Lacey was surprised to see Steve again. He had a big bruise on his forehead and his hands were scratched up. Next to him was a busty redhead – the same one that had been on TV with him last night. Lacey’s heart sunk – of course he’d have a girlfriend. Gwen stopped checking book inventory to raise an eyebrow at the whole situation. 

“Hey, Steve. Wow, you look like you had a rough night.” Lacey said, unsure how to bring up the elephant in the room, especially with his hot girlfriend standing right there.

“I’ve been better, but it’s not too bad. This is Natasha. We work together. Natasha, this is Lacey.” The two women exchanged “it’s nice to meet yous.” Steve ordered a regular coffee again. 

“So, what exactly is it you do, again?” Lacey inquired in an attempt to be nonchalant, knowing he had never told her about his ‘job.’ 

“We protect people from getting hurt.” Natasha looked awkwardly between Steve and Lacey, detecting tension. 

“I’m going to go look at books…” she said, and walked away. Gwen grabbed a box of books and went into a back room without saying a word. 

“I saw you on the news last night.” Lacey said uncomfortably. “You didn’t tell me you’re a superhero. Although I realize that’s kind of a weird thing to say to a stranger.” 

“That’s not what I’d call myself. I just help people is all.” 

“Well, you certainly helped me yesterday, but that doesn’t seem like such a big deal anymore compared to the whole city you helped last night. I wish I could help as many people as you do, but I’m just some little co-owner of a bookstore and café.” 

“You help a lot of people, ma’am. You wouldn’t believe how many people are absolute monsters when they haven’t had their coffee,” he joked. Lacey didn’t laugh. She felt inferior and embarrassed. “I’m not anything special,” Steve continued, “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.” 

Lacey didn’t really know what to say to that, so she changed the subject. 

“She’s pretty.” 

“She’s a talented fighter.” 

Steve clearly didn’t understand what Lacey meant. Lacey was about to say something when the bell jingled again and in walked another one of Steve’s co-workers from the news – an archer with killer arms. When Natasha saw him, she waved, and he walked up and gave her a big kiss on the mouth. Lacey’s relief was visible on her face, although Steve didn’t quite understand it. Suddenly, his cell phone rang, breaking the gaze between Lacey and Steve, and Steve looked at the caller ID. Tony Stark. 

“Another co-worker – I apologize, I should take this. Captain Rogers speaking.” 

“You’re at her coffee shop right now, aren’t you?” 

“This isn’t a good time, Stark.” 

“I knew it. Okay, party at my place tonight, invite her, bring whoever else you want, let the others know. I know, I know, you’re lucky to have me as a wingman. No need to thank me.”   
“Okay, Stark. Bye.” Steve hoped Lacey couldn’t tell what they were talking about. “Miss McMannis, would you be interested in coming to a party tonight?”

Lacey looked surprised. 

“Uh…maybe…could Gwen come?” 

“Sure. It’s at Stark Tower, in the middle of the city. You met Tony Stark, at the club? He’s having a party tonight and said I could invite some friends.” 

“Well…I guess I could probably make it…” 

“I hope I see you there.” Steve grabbed his to-go cup and nodded to Natasha and Arrow McBiceps to follow.


	5. In Which a Party is Attended and a Date is Made

Steve sat awkwardly in a corner the way he usually did at Tony’s parties. He never knew anyone at the Stark Tower parties, and he had a suspicion that Tony didn’t know any of them either. He had no idea how Tony had managed to pull together a party on a Tuesday night so quickly, but he did it. 

Somehow, every time Stark threw a party, the tower was filled with the richest and most important men and women in New York, as well as a variety of strippers, Playboy bunnies, and other ‘adult entertainers.’ Endless trays of champagne, cocktails, and lavish h’ors doeuvres were passed around by scantily clad cocktail waitresses. One side of the room was made up entirely of windows through which the stars and the lights of the city could be seen. All around the room, the diamonds of millionaires’ wives twinkled. 

To most Americans, it would seem like the party of a lifetime, an affair of Gatsbian proportions. To Steve, it seemed like needless extravagance. Although he knew that to Stark, the cost of an event like this was practically pocket change, but Steve still had a hard time understanding the way people wasted resources these days. He figured it was just more of his World War II mentality creeping in. He already felt awkward wearing his army dress uniform to the party, but it was the fanciest thing he had. 

Besides that, he felt uncomfortable watching all of these wealthy people pretend to like each other, and felt even more uncomfortable when he was propositioned by the occasional Playboy bunny offering him bedroom companionship. He’d been sitting at the party for two hours and Lacey still hadn’t arrived, at least not that he’d seen. He began to get discouraged, convincing himself that she wasn’t interested in seeing him ever again. 

Finally, he saw her and Gwen walk in, looking around in awe at the party. Lacey was wearing a vintage-inspired blue V-neck cocktail dress with cap sleeves that hugged her curves snugly. Gwen had on a black lacy one-shoulder dress. Each of them grabbed a flute of champagne and looked around. Tony stark approached them with Pepper Potts on his arm, looking stunning in her silky, flowing silver dress. Steve saw him shake hands with each of them, introduce them to Pepper, and motion around as if telling them to make themselves comfortable. He really wasn’t such a bad host, Steve had to admit. 

Lacey looked around and finally saw him. She and Gwen started to make their way toward him and he stepped forward to meet them halfway, when they were intercepted by Thor in his typical jeans and t-shirt, but with a blazer thrown over it. 

“Lady Lacey, how good it is to see you again. I hope you have had to good fortune of not being disrespected by any more miscreants since I last saw you.” He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it.

“No, I have been quite fortunate.”

“I do not believe I have had the honor of being introduced to this lovely creature accompanying you.” He lifted Gwen’s hand and kissed it as well. 

“This is Gwen.” 

“Lady Gwendolyn, it is an honor to meet one so fair. I am Thor Odinson, king of Asgard.” 

“I’m going to go…try a snack…” Lacey said, taking a wingwoman’s escape while she left her friend alone with Thor. She made her way over to Steve. 

“I like your uniform.” Lacey smiled, admiring the olive green shirt, tan tie, and olive jacket with various pins and medals showing his military accomplishments. 

“Thank you. It’s the nicest thing I have.”

“I love it, I hardly ever see authentic World War II military attire. Could I…” Lacey’s face turned slightly pinker than usual. Steve looked at her questioningly. “Could I…feel it?” 

Steve nodded and bent over slightly so that his jacket would be more easily within the much-shorter girl’s reach. This made his face closer to hers than it had ever been before, and they made eye contact as she gently placed her hand on his lapel, touching the thick, course fabric of the jacket. She could feel the hardness of the muscles in his chest underneath it. She slowly lowered her hand down and he backed away, making them both remember that they were in a room full of other people. 

Lacey took a sip of her champagne to distract herself from his piercing blue eyes, but when she tried to find something else to focus on, she just realized how out-of-place she felt at this party full of millionaires. She also felt insecure and frumpy in her knee-length dress when she looked around and saw the strippers, bunnies, and waitresses in their short, tight, cleavage-baring dresses. Steve wasn’t feeling particularly relaxed either, and he sensed Lacey’s discomfort. 

“I think I might step outside for a little air. Would you like to join me?” Steve asked, offering his arm. 

Lacey looked visibly relieved, but hesitant. She glanced toward Gwen, but realizing that her friend looked content chatting with Thor, she set her champagne down on a table and took Steve’s arm. He led her through the opening in the glass to the balcony. Lacey stared at the beauty of New York City at night.

“I’ve never seen the city from above like this, it’s breathtaking.” She sighed. Steve didn’t say anything, letting her appreciate the beauty in peace. Lacey didn’t realize how chilly it was out there until she involuntarily shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. She was beginning to regret not bringing a sweater. She tried to ignore it while she continued to admire the lights when something warm and thick was placed over her shoulders. She looked down and realized that it was Steve’s army jacket. She looked up at him and saw that he was just in his shirt and tie. 

“I should have brought a sweater,” she giggled as she slipped her arms in the sleeves and wrapped the coat around her. It was so big that it covered her entire dress. “But then only my arms would be warm and not my entire body,” she joked. 

“It looks good on you.” They stood looking at each other, neither really knowing what to say. Finally, Steve brought up what was on his mind. 

“I was thinking of going to the drive-in on Saturday, but I’d sure hate to go alone.” 

“I like the drive-in. I think they’re playing one of my favorites on Saturday.” 

“I wouldn’t want you to have to miss your favorite film at the drive-in.” 

“I wouldn’t want you to have to watch my favorite film alone. Could you pick me up at my apartment? 8:30?” 

“You got it.” Steve smiled, but he was nervous – assuming nothing happened before Saturday, it would be his first date. The last date he made didn’t end up happening, and that was over seventy years ago. 

“I should probably go back in and check on Gwen,” Lacey said. The two went back inside and Lacey looked around for Gwen. She didn’t see her right away. She spotted Natasha and her boyfriend (whose name, she learned, was Clint) making out in a corner, then she found Thor chatting up a group of giggling strippers, but no Gwen. Finally, she saw Gwen talking to Pepper Potts and made her way over. 

“Nice jacket, but I think you should try a size smaller,” Gwen said as soon as she saw her best friend. Lacey glanced down and realized she was still wearing Steve’s jacket. Pepper smiled knowingly. 

“Oh! I forgot. I went outside for some air and it was a little cold. I’d better find him and return it.” 

“After that, we should probably get going. I have to open the store tomorrow.” Gwen reminded her. 

Lacey found Steve again and handed him the jacket. 

“Thank you for letting me wear it. Gwen wants to leave, so…see you soon?” 

“I look forward to it,” Steve nodded. 

Lacey wanted to hug him, but all she did was smile at him awkwardly, and went to find Gwen.


	6. In Which Steve Saves Lacey's Day

When Lacey made it into the store the next day, the first thing she noticed was Pepper, Tony, Natasha, and Clint huddled around the counter talking to Gwen. When Lacey walked up, they all became silent. She eyed them suspiciously, knowing they were just talking about her, but decided to let it go. She grabbed a package of napkins and went around refilling the napkin holders on the tables. The group at the counter began talking again, too quietly for Lacey to hear. The bell jingled and a guy with curly black hair and glasses came in. 

“It’s about time you got here, big guy,” Tony said, slapping the guy on the shoulder. 

“Hey, Bruce,” Natasha said. He joined the group, ordered some coffee, and began talking with the rest of them. Lacey vaguely recognized him – he was probably at the party the night before. 

“I know you guys are talking about me. I’m not an idiot,” Lacey said over her shoulder toward the group. “Was I walking around the party last night with toilet paper on my shoe or something?” 

“Relax, we’re just talking about how freaking adorable you and Steve are.” Gwen assured her as she gave Bruce his coffee. 

“Seriously, guys?” Lacey looked at them all. “I barely even know any of you…I’ve never even met some of you.” They all looked a little bit ashamed – except for Tony Stark, of course.  
“Well…this is kind of a big deal. You see, Steve hasn’t liked a girl since the one he lost in the 40s.” Natasha explained. 

“Well, there’s your problem,” Clint mumbled.

“Yeah, you know, I’m kind of a big deal,” Lacey joked. “No, but seriously…so?” 

“I love you Lace, but you haven’t exactly had a lot of dates recently either.” Gwen said. Lacey looked a little hurt. “NOT because you aren’t gorgeous and awesome! But because you haven’t met a guy that fits with you so well! Seriously, we all think you two will be fantastic together.” 

“You’re…shipping us?” Lacey looked at the group with one eyebrow raised. “Well, don’t get too excited, we aren’t even going on our first date until Saturday…” She saw the looks on everyone’s faces and realized that this was news to them. Regret about bringing it up soon surfaced. That was when she realized that half of the reason they had been gossiping was to try to figure out just what, exactly, had been going on between her and Steve. She couldn’t really blame them, when she thought about it…for some of those people, all they had seen was Steve leaving the party with a girl and then coming back in with her wearing his jacket. 

“Saturday, date, we’re going to the drive-in, that’s all, I have nothing more to say about it.” That seemed to satisfy them…for now. Lacey knew Gwen would yell at her later for not telling her this earlier. They went right back to their conversation. Lacey didn’t know how she and Gwen’s bookstore/café became the official hangout of The Avengers, but it seemed like in the last few days, it had. 

When Lacey glanced over at them again, she suddenly noticed that Gwen and Thor seemed to be looking at each other an awful lot. They had seemed to hit it off at the party, but it hadn’t occurred to Lacey that they might actually be cute together. Unfortunately, she didn’t really know any of the Avengers besides Steve well enough to bring it up and get the ball rolling. Guess she’d just have to figure it out.

*****

Practically as soon as Lacey opened the door the next morning, Clint and Natasha were there. 

“Hey guys! What can I get for you?” 

“Just two medium coffees, one with cream.” 

While Lacey poured them, she decided she’d better bring up the Gwen/Thor thing before either of them appeared in the shop. 

“So…this is kind of random, but…have either of you two noticed that Gwen and Thor kind of look at each other a lot?” 

“I didn’t notice anything, but I’ll keep an eye out.” Natasha promised. 

The bell jingled and Tony Stark and Pepper shuffled in, Tony wearing sunglasses and not looking particularly happy.

“Why am I awake this early again?” 

“Because you promised me you would fix my computer and you haven’t yet. You’re lucky I’m letting you have your latte first,” Pepper said calmly. She was ignored.

“Hey, coffee girl, I’ll have a large non-fat soy vanilla latte. And can you draw my face in the foam? I love it when people do that.” 

Pepper rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s shenanigans and ordered a regular vanilla latte with cinnamon. While Lacey got to work on the coffee art, Pepper sat down with Clint and Natasha and asked what was going on. Natasha answered. 

“We’re setting up Gwen and Thor.” 

“Well, that escalated quickly,” Clint added. 

Tony received his latte and inspected the drawing in the foam. 

“Yeah, that doesn’t look handsome enough. Have you seen me?” He pointed to his face. Pepper came up behind him and looked at it over his shoulder. 

“It looks accurate to me.” 

The two women and Clint discussed the Gwen and Thor situation, Tony sulked while he drank his latte, and Lacey was stuck behind the counter dealing with the morning rush. When it slowed a couple of hours later, the group was finishing up their third round of coffees and Lacey finally had a chance to join the conversation briefly, although she knew she also had to set up for a book signing later that afternoon. She knew it was Gwen’s day off, so she had a lot of work to do, but it was the best time to discuss the matter without her hearing. 

The group discussed ideas for a few minutes before they dispersed. They all had places to be, and Lacey had a busy schedule. She had just finished putting her friends’ mugs in the kitchen and wiping down their table when it started raining. By the time she was about to grab the stuff to set up for the book signing, another rush began. People couldn’t resist a warm cup of coffee when it was raining outside. 

Just as the last of that rush had left and Lacey was about to run back to grab the table for the signing, Steve came in. His hair and green plaid shirt were soaked and the wet shirt clung to the muscles in his chest and arms. Lacey barely had time to admire the view, because behind him came about ten more people. Steve didn’t even have to ask, Lacey just poured his coffee. When she grabbed the mug, she began to panic – she was running out of clean mugs. She would have enough for this rush, but if there was another rush, she would run out quickly and not have time to wash any. While she was steaming the milk for various customers’ drinks, she called Gwen, holding her phone between her ear and shoulder while she worked. Steve couldn’t help but overhear.

“Gwen? I know it’s your day off, but it’s a madhouse here and I don’t have time to clean any mugs or set up for the book signing. Is there any way you could come in?...I know, but it’s crazy here…oh…oh, is she okay?! Okay, don’t worry about it, I’ll…I’ll figure something out. Good luck!” 

More people were coming in the door and Lacey was getting close to being out of mugs. She could also tell that people were starting to get antsy about how slowly she was getting their coffee orders to them. She looked around and felt her face grow warmer as tears began to surface, but she fought them – she couldn’t afford to break down right now. 

“Do you need some help?” 

Still pouring coffee, Lacey looked up to see Steve leaning over the side of the counter. 

“Um…well, I’m almost out of clean mugs and I have a book signing today that I haven’t started setting up for and I don’t want to make all these people mad and Gwen’s cousin is in the hospital so she can’t come in –” Talking only made the tears begin to surface more, so she had to stop talking to choke them back. 

“What do you need?” Steve asked calmly. 

“What? No, I couldn’t ask you to do that, you don’t even work here.” 

“Lacey, I want to help.” 

Lacey looked around at the customers, her dwindling stacks of clean mugs, and the messes that were starting to form on some of the tables, and knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it all without some help. 

“Well…I’m running out of clean mugs. There are some dirty ones in the kitchen and some left over on the tables that I haven’t had a chance to wash…” Steve just nodded and began to gather up dirty mugs from the empty tables, then walked toward the kitchen. 

“Steve!” He turned. “Thank you!” Lacey said seriously, eyes full of gratitude. He smiled and nodded at her again before disappearing into the kitchen.   
Five minutes later, he came back out with a stack of clean mugs, still warm from the hot water he had used to clean them. A few minutes later, he came out with another stack. With the lessened stress of knowing that she wasn’t doing everything alone, Lacey was able to get through the rush more efficiently and get everyone out of there. When all the mugs were clean, she was still helping a fairly steady flow of customers, but it wasn’t nearly the insanity it had been before. Steve went back up to her counter. 

“Anything else you need done?” 

“Oh, no, you don’t need to do anything else; you’ve already helped so much.” 

“You don’t have to do all of this alone.” 

Well, she wasn’t going to deny the help she desperately needed – the author for the signing was going to be there in an hour and she knew the place would be crowded during the signing. 

“Well…there’s a folding table and chair in the store room that need to be set up over there by the shelves...” 

Steve immediately went to get them. A moment later, he came out of the door to the store room with the table folded up under one arm and the chair in his other hand. Lacey couldn’t help but stare for a moment at his strength. He set up the table and chair where she had indicated and went back to the counter. 

“There’s a banner rolled up against the wall in the store room and a roll of duct tape somewhere back there…the banner just needs to be taped to the front edge of the table, and then that’s it.” 

When Steve had finished the task, he immediately started grabbing dirty mugs again to wash more of them. Finally, the rain stopped and the amount of customers died down to a much more manageable quantity. When sci-fi author Lee Anderson arrived, Lacey greeted him warmly and showed him to the table, where he began to set up stacks of his new book, The Girl Who Forgot, for customers to buy and have signed. Once Lee was set up, most of the people who came in drifted to his table, and Lacey finally got to take a breath. 

She came out from behind the counter and stood in front of Steve. His sleeves were rolled up from washing the mugs and she was momentarily distracted by his forearms. He also had a slightly pink face, probably from running around helping her and standing over a sink with hot water steaming out of it. 

“Thank you so, so much for today. You’ve been a life-saver.” 

“It’s no problem; I just want to help out.” 

“Steve, I don’t know what I would have done without you today.” 

Before she could stop herself, Lacey wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him. He got a bit rigid at first out of surprise, but then realized what was going on and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She practically disappeared inside of his arms. With her face pressed against his chest, she could smell his fresh, clean scent – a combination of basic soap and laundry starch. Finally, she pulled away and looked up at him, finding his steel blue eyes looking right at hers. There was a slight smile at the corners of his mouth. 

“Okay, now I really owe you,” Lacey insisted, “if scaring away the scumbag customer wasn’t enough, working for free in my store for an entire day definitely constitutes repayment.” 

“I like to help people. It was my choice, you don’t owe me anything.” 

A girl couldn’t think straight when he was defending her against bullies and washing dishes for her and refusing repayment while looking down at her so earnestly with those blue eyes. She couldn’t help but hug him again.


	7. In Which Thor's Wooing Attempt is Thwarted by His Brother

Thor came in around noon and found Lacey behind the counter. 

“Lady Lacey, it pleases me to see you once again. May I have another lah-teh with nut of hazel?”

“Of course, Thor.” She started to steam the milk. 

“Can the fair Gwen be found here?” 

“Sure. GWEN!” she shouted across the store. All she heard in reply was a horrified shriek. “Well…that’s not a normal reaction.” 

“Spider! A huge spider fell out of one of the books! It was about the size of a golf ball!” Gwen yelled as she ran out from behind the shelves. Without thinking, she ran and hid behind Thor. 

“I will save you, beautiful Gwen!” 

Thor took off in search of the spider while Gwen shuddered and started rubbing her arms as if imaginary bugs were crawling on them. The girls heard several thumps as Thor tried to slay the creature, then finally a loud crash. The girls were a little concerned that he was making a mess out of their books, but at that moment, getting rid of the spider was the most important thing. Thor appeared again, dangling the dead spider by one leg. He held it out toward Gwen proudly. 

“Milady, I have killed the offending creature and now present it to you as a prize!”

“Ew! I don’t want that! Why would I want a spider carcass?” Thor’s face fell and he looked hurt. 

“You don’t want my gift?” 

Gwen gave him a look that said, ‘duh, weirdo’ before just walking back behind the shelves to clean up whatever mess Thor had made. Thor turned to Lacey, the spider still dangling by his hand. 

“I do not understand. I thought the fair Gwen wanted me to do a feat of bravery in her honor.” 

Lacey came out from behind the counter, grabbed Thor by the arm, and led him to the door. 

“Why don’t you just put that outside…” Thor dropped the dead spider onto the sidewalk. Lacey led him back inside. “You see, Thor, here in…Midgard…young ladies don’t really like to receive corpses as gifts. If you want to give a woman a gift, you might try flowers or perhaps something she has mentioned she likes. For example, Gwen really likes books…she would love to receive a book as a gift.” 

Thor’s idea light bulb lit up and he went to the nearest bookshelf, grabbed a random book, and presented it to Gwen.

“A New Englander’s Guide to Indigenous Birds?”

“Your friend informed me that you treasure these bound tomes.” When Gwen saw the hopeful look on Thor’s face, she didn’t have the heart to tell him that giving her a random book from her own bookstore isn’t an appropriate gift. She took it from his hands and hugged it to her chest, smiling. 

“Thank you, Thor. I love it.” Thor gave her a smile and a wink. 

“Um…Thor? Here’s your hazelnut latte.” 

Just as Thor was grabbing his latte and Gwen stepped behind the counter to help Lacey, the bell jingled, signaling the arrival of another customer. In walked a tall man wearing a plain black suit with a green and gold scarf draped around his neck. He had a pale face with strong cheekbones, bright green eyes, and long black hair that fell slightly past his shoulders. Overall, he had an incredibly striking appearance and gave one the feeling that he had the power to decide whether you lived or died at his whim. When Gwen turned around and saw him, she stopped in her tracks and stared, her mouth hanging open slightly. 

Lacey noticed her friend’s reaction, and then glanced at Thor. She noticed his biceps tense up as his hands formed tight fists. He turned his shoulders toward the newcomer. 

“Brother, I warn you that if you attempt to hurt anyone here, you will not succeed.” 

“Fear not, Odinson,” the stranger said the name with a sneer in his voice, “I do not come here for any ‘foul’ purpose. I am here merely to obtain a book on the subject of Greek mythology.” 

“For what purpose?” Thor asked, clearly suspicious of the other’s intentions. The astonishing dark-haired man smiled deviously before answering. 

“I simply find the topic fascinating and wish to learn more. Surely, you would not deny me the pleasure of seeking the knowledge I desire – or are you going to take that from me as well?” 

The girls could hear the bitterness in this man’s voice when he spoke to Thor. They stood, awkwardly witnessing the scene. Thor’s fists relaxed slightly and the anger in his face softened a little. He seemed at a loss for words. Gwen interrupted the scene, and the fact that she was clearly mesmerized by the impressive visitor did not go unnoticed by Lacey. 

“I can show you the mythology section.” 

The man turned his gaze toward her and his sea foam eyes quickly glanced over her body and Gwen felt naked under his scrutiny. The man’s mouth slowly curled into an approving smile, and Gwen stepped out from behind the counter to lead him to the mythology section. 

“I’m sorry; I didn’t catch your name.”

“I am Loki of Asgard.” 

“I’m…Gwen,” she said, clearly enthralled. 

Lacey looked at Thor once Gwen and Loki were gone. 

“So…is that your brother, then?”

“Yes. He’s adopted.” 

“He seems…nice.” Lacey didn’t think that was quite the right word, but she wanted to say something, and she didn’t really know what else to say. 

Thor clenched his jaw and sat down with his latte. He seemed a little edgy. Loki came out behind the shelves holding a book. Gwen came behind him and Lacey tried to hold back a laugh as she saw her best friend blatantly check out Loki’s backside. He brought the book to the counter and Gwen rang it up. Loki paid for his book and gave Gwen one more mischievous smile. 

“Thank you…Gwen.” 

There was something about the way he said her name that had a slightly hypnotizing effect on her. Within a moment, he was out the door. Thor was not far behind him, having finished his coffee. Gwen and Lacey just looked at each other, communicating the way only best friends could. 

“What just happened?” Lacey finally asked. 

Gwen didn’t have an answer.


	8. In Which Steve Discovers Dating and Drive-ins

Lacey was ready for the date at 7:00, even though she knew Steve wouldn’t arrive until 8:00. She was wearing a pink top with a blue pencil skirt and burgundy cardigan. She also had on her usual red lipstick and 1940s wavy hair. Gwen told her she looked gorgeous before leaving to go have a girls’ night with Pepper. Lacey tried to pass the time by watching TV, but she was too excited and nervous about the date to pay attention. After an hour that felt like five, there was a knock on the apartment door precisely at 7:59. Steve was exactly on time. 

Lacey opened the door to find Steve wearing khakis, a solid blue button-up that matched his eyes, and a brown leather jacket. For a moment, he just stood staring at her, clearly liking what he saw. 

“Let me just grab a coat and I’ll be ready to go.” 

She let him inside and closed the door, then ran to her room to grab her black peacoat, since it was pretty cold outside in November. She came back and found him looking around the room until he saw her again and smiled. They stepped outside the apartment, Lacey locked up, and they started down the stairs. 

“You look nice.” Steve finally managed to say. Lacey smiled. 

“So do you.” 

They got to the parking lot and Steve walked her to a red 1940s convertible Cadillac. 

“Where did you get this?” Lacey asked in awe. 

“It’s Tony’s.” 

“He let you borrow his car?” 

“Pepper told me I could.” 

“Ah.” 

Steve opened the passenger door for Lacey and let her get in before closing it and getting in the driver’s side. The ride to the drive-in was fairly quiet because the air blowing through the open convertible would have made it impossible to hear each other anyway, but they kept exchanging smiles and admiring glances during the drive. When they arrived, Steve paid for their tickets, parked, and turned off the engine, and was finally able to fully look at Lacey again. He felt like he should start some conversation before the movie started, but he didn’t really know what to say. He had never been on a date before and had no idea what he was doing. He wondered how other guys did this – talked to women without seeming like an idiot. 

“Um…are you…warm enough?” He finally decided to go with. “I have a blanket in the back seat if you get cold.” 

“My legs actually are a little bit…” Lacey admitted, and Steve reached back, unfolded the blanket, and placed it over her lap awkwardly. “Thanks.” 

There was another two minutes of silence. They had gotten there earlier than expected and didn’t know how to pass the time until the movie started. 

“So…this is the drive-in.” Steve looked around to take it in. 

“Yeah…this is it.” Lacey looked around too, until her eyes landed on the car parked next to them and the couple that was clearly in the middle of an intense make-out session inside. She jerked her head around to look the other way, embarrassed. Judging by the pink shade Steve’s cheeks suddenly were, she guessed he had seen them too. 

They continued to sit silently. Lacey liked Steve, but so far he didn’t seem like the best date conversationalist. On Steve’s part, he took a deep breath, trying not to blow it with this girl on the first date. He turned and looked at her. 

“I’m sorry about this. I…this is kind of embarrassing, but…this is my first date. I guess I don’t really know what I’m doing.” Once again, he wasn’t met with the laughter he expected as a response – instead, Lacey’s eyes were full of understanding and compassion. She smiled at him reassuringly and put her hand on top of his, which was resting on his knee. 

“That’s okay. You’re doing fine.” 

He looked down at her tiny hand over his much larger one as if he didn’t mind if she kept it there forever. He turned his hand over and wrapped his fingers around it. She looked at their hands as if a little surprised, but she certainly wasn’t complaining, and began to wonder how his hands were so warm when it was freezing outside. Breathing in the crisp air, she stopped to appreciate the fact that she was holding hands at the drive-in with a World War II soldier in a vintage convertible. 

*****

At Stark Tower, Pepper was casually trying to talk up Thor to Gwen over a couple of martinis. Gwen was impressed by Pepper’s bartending skills. As Gwen was admitting that Thor’s smile made her slightly gooey inside when Tony appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Yes, my smile frequently has that effect on women, but that’s the price of being as devilishly handsome as I am.” 

“Excuse me,” Pepper got up with her martini and put her free hand around her boyfriend’s neck, “but this is a girls’ night. Despite the fact that you’re a princess, I’ve seen you naked enough times to know that you are, in fact, male.” 

“I am not a princess, I just like people doing things for me and getting my way and having a lot of shiny things.” 

“How about you go have a bro night with Bruce? You can ask him about his latest findings on gamma rays, and when you get back…” Pepper whispered something in his ear that seemed to give Tony the motivation to listen to her. The next thing Gwen knew, he was out of the room. He came back in a moment later. 

“Where’s my 40s Cadillac?” 

“OUT!” Gwen said. Tony left again with a promise that he and Pepper would discuss the matter later. 

“So anyway, Thor. He’s a great guy,” Pepper continued

“He is,” Gwen said, but Pepper could hear something hidden behind her words. 

“But?” 

“I met his brother Loki yesterday. He seemed…intriguing. Do you know what’s going on with those two?” 

For the next few hours, Pepper explained to Gwen Loki’s history: his tragic discovery about his true parentage, his jealousy of Thor because of it, his constant desire to prove himself worthy enough for a position on a throne, his unfortunate methods of trying to achieve that goal, and his imprisonment as a consequence of his actions. So far, he hadn’t shown any sign of wanting to cause trouble again, so he was being left alone, given the chance to redeem himself. 

Although the story was unsettling and made Gwen slightly frightened at the idea of Loki again, the idea also excited her. Perhaps it was because she was also adopted and knew the pain of feeling constantly in the shadow of a sibling, perhaps because she found the potential danger invigorating. Instead of being disgusted with his actions, Gwen simply felt for him. Sure, she didn’t approve of his actions, at least according to what Pepper had said he did, but she felt like she could relate to the feelings that had caused them. She knew that it would certainly be interesting if and when she ran into Loki again. 

*****

At the drive-in, the opening credits of the movie started to play: Charade starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. It was fortunate timing, since the amorous couple in the car next to them could no longer be seen, but their car was starting to rock suspiciously. Steve and Lacey both tried to ignore it, since they already both felt uncomfortable enough. 

Steve was enjoying the movie, but he was slightly more enjoying watching Lacey watch the movie. She wasn’t lying when she said that Charade was one of her favorite movies. She smiled at romantic parts, mouthed along with some of the wittier lines, and had her eyes glued to the screen during suspenseful sequences. He thought it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. 

The end credits started playing and Lacey directed her attention back to Steve. Suddenly, he felt incredibly nervous. What was he supposed to do now? Take her home? Ask her if she wants food? What if she wanted him to kiss her? Why hadn’t he asked one of the other guys to tell him what to expect? He decided he’d better say something to stall for time while he figured out what was supposed to happen next. 

“I can see why that’s one of your favorite films.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for inviting me.” 

“It’s my pleasure.” 

He sat there, having absolutely no idea what to do at this point. He just started the car and pulled out of the drive-in. When they got back to Lacey’s apartment building, they just sat in the car for a moment, both not knowing what to do now. Lacey didn’t want to end the date yet, and neither did Steve. 

“Would you…like to go for a walk?” Steve finally asked. 

“Sure, that sounds nice.” 

Steve got out and went around to open the door for her. When they were out of the car, he gently took her hand in his again while they started walking down the block. 

“I know you probably get asked this a lot,” Lacey prefaced, “but...was it weird? Waking up in 2010 with the last thing you remembered being 1943?” 

“It’s still weird,” he confessed. “It’s so different now than it was back then. There are still a lot of things I don’t understand. Sometimes I feel like I’m still an asthmatic kid from Brooklyn, but instead of being beat up in an alley, I’m being judged for being different.” While he was making confessions, he thought he might as well put everything out there. “You know, sometimes I’m afraid to ask anyone anything or say I don’t know something because I don’t want them to laugh. That’s one of the first things I noticed about you – you didn’t laugh.”

“The way I see it, it could be anyone. I could be frozen right now and wake up 100 years from now. Some people want to do that. Live longer. See the future. It doesn’t make sense to me, that people would welcome the future but not the past.” 

“Nowadays it seems like people just want more, no matter how much they already have.”

“Yeah, I mean, that must be really different, coming from World War II where people were trying to work together to save their country, contribute everything they had to offer, use only what they needed to survive. Nowadays people want stuff just to have it.” 

Steve stopped in his tracks and looked down at Lacey, dropping her hand, and she wondered how she’d never noticed before how long his eyelashes are. 

“You’re the first person I’ve met who understands that.” 

“I want to do something more with my life than collect junk. I don’t feel right having more than I need when there are some people who barely have enough to live.” 

When Lacey said that, Steve wanted nothing more than to pull her close to him and kiss her. He didn’t. 

“I knew people during the war who didn’t understand that as well as you do.” When Lacey didn’t have anything to say in response, he just took her hand again and continued walking. “Well, I can’t complain too much. I got what I wanted. I’m serving my country and helping other people. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” 

“I’m glad you got what you wanted. You deserve it.” 

They had made it around the block and were back in front of Lacey’s apartment building again. He walked her up to her door, but she didn’t immediately go inside. 

“Thank you for the lovely evening, I had a great time.” 

“I don’t suppose I could get you to go on another date with me sometime?” 

“I think I could be talked into it.” 

Steve grinned down at her and gently pulled her into a hug. She didn’t object to smelling his clean, soapy smell again, this time mixed with the leather of his jacket. When she had Steve’s arms around her, she felt safer than she had ever felt before. He broke the hug and said goodnight to her before walking back down the stairs to return Tony’s convertible. Once Lacey got back inside her apartment, she leaned against the inside of the door, no longer able to stay upright after such an intoxicating hug.


	9. In Which Gwen and Loki Learn They Have Something in Common

Since the shop was closed on Sundays, Lacey had all day to give Gwen a recap of the date. Gwen also had a chance to tell Lacey what she had found out about Thor and Loki, and without her having to say so, Lacey knew that Gwen could relate to Loki. She knew that Gwen had always felt like a disappointment to her family. Gwen had never wanted the same things for herself that they wanted for her, and while her adoptive parents loved her, they didn’t fully understand the goals she chose to accomplish instead of theirs. To make matters worse, her younger sister, while also adopted, seemed to always meet their expectations with flying colors. Gwen knew that her parents didn’t love her sister more, they just understood her more, making Gwen feel like she didn’t belong and could never please her family. 

Lacey knew her best friend well enough to realize that Gwen would never really connect with someone like Thor – the favorite child, the one who always measured up no matter what he did – Gwen just couldn’t relate to that. 

When they opened again on Monday, their lives seemed boring compared to the weekend. Gwen and Lacey dealt with the Monday morning rush, but once that was over, it was just a few bookworms browsing the shelves and a college student using the Wi-Fi. Lacey had to admit she hoped Steve came in sometime that day. Every time the bell on the door jingled, she glanced over, hoping to see him. Around ten, the bell jingled to reveal, not Steve, but Loki. He had the mythology book under his arm. At first, Lacey thought he had come to return it. The tall, green-eyed man approached the counter. 

“May I have a large black coffee?” Even the way he ordered coffee was unsettling. 

Lacey poured him the coffee; he paid for it, and then sat down at the table nearest the counter. Once he had settled down at the table, Gwen came out from the back room after taking a call on her cell phone. 

“Guess who that was? My mom. And guess what she wanted? To remind me what a failure I am. My perfect sister just got into med school and I’ve gotten to hear about it all week. And do they want to listen when I want to talk about my bookstore? No. If I talk about the bookstore, they just say, ‘oh.’ Nothing I do is as exciting to them as what she does. She’s the perfect one and I’m always a burden. I just feel like…” Gwen trailed off, trying to come up with the right words. 

“You feel like you’re in someone else’s shadow?” 

The words had come from Loki, who Gwen hadn’t even noticed while she was ranting. When she saw that it was him, her mouth fell open slightly. The reaction was partly due to seeing him again and partly because she couldn’t have described her feelings more accurately than he just did. 

“…yes. That’s exactly what I feel like,” she finally responded. 

“I know the feeling well.” 

Gwen didn’t have an answer. She didn’t know if she should allow Loki to know that she had been told about his past. She did, however, feel a pang of sympathy at his words. 

“The feeling that you’re an eternal disappointment,” Gwen confirmed. 

“The feeling that your sibling will take from you everything you have ever desired.” 

His emerald eyes and Gwen’s hazel ones were staring into each other when the bell jingled and Thor appeared, a cluster of rather crushed-looking tulips in his fist. 

“Fair Gwendolyn!” He thrust the sad bouquet toward her, and she took it gingerly. 

“Um…wow,” she said with little enthusiasm. “Thank you, Thor.” Lacey knew her friend well enough to recognize the source of her less-than-thrilled response – Gwen liked daisies. 

When Loki witnessed this, his green eyes lowered dejectedly to his book and he attempted to focus his attention on its contents. As Thor ordered his coffee and beamed at Gwen, Lacey happened to notice that Loki turned one of the pages of his book a little more violently than necessary. When Thor suddenly noticed Loki was there, he tensed up, the same way he had last time he saw him. 

“Why do you come here, brother?” 

“I came to read my book and drink my coffee in peace. Unfortunately, there seems to be some thunderous noise that is proving to be a distraction.” 

“I am protecting these humans.” 

“Protecting them from what?” 

Thor didn’t have an answer. Instead of saying anything, he snatched his coffee off the counter grumpily, chugged it in what seemed like one massive gulp, slammed the mug back down on the counter, and stormed out. Loki just slammed his book shut. Tentatively, Gwen leaned over the counter to talk to Loki more easily. 

“So…that’s your brother?” 

“He is not my brother. I was adopted by his father.” 

“I’m adopted too,” Gwen said after a pause. Loki turned his head to look at her. 

“And your sister?” 

“She’s adopted as well, but you’d never know it. Every time we are together, she is praised and I am the odd one out. Every accomplishment I’ve ever been proud of, every interest I’ve ever had, every dream I’ve wanted to achieve – all are just met with disappointment.”

“During my childhood, I never understood why Thor got away with actions for which I would have been punished, why my father – his father – always favored him over me. To him, I was merely a political pawn, something to be kept until I had a use. ” 

Gwen could see the pain in his eyes – it clearly still bothered him, and hurt for him to talk about. She was a little surprised he was opening up to her after having met her once, but she assumed it was because she was also adopted and knew how he felt. 

“My sister is the talented one, the accomplished one, the ambitious one, the one who is going to make something of herself. And to make things worse, she’s the pretty one too.” 

“That is impossible.” 

Gwen blushed a little even as she smiled at the compliment. 

“Well…she’s also way smarter than me. She’s going to med school while I’m just running some tiny little bookstore.” 

“Does she know about mythology?” 

“No. She thinks Hermes is a brand of scarves.” 

“Then you have an intelligence she does not possess.” 

Gwen hadn’t thought about it that way, but it did make her feel a lot better. Especially coming from someone who not only knew how she felt, but was incredibly attractive, at least in her opinion. He was a study in contrasts – black hair against pale skin, electric green eyes and white teeth; rough and menacing on the outside, but wounded and fragile in his heart. 

Loki had never met anyone who truly understood the pain and humiliation he suffered. The fact that it was a beautiful woman made it even more pleasant. However, he suddenly remembered that Thor had brought her flowers, and realized that any idea he had entertained of being with this woman would just make one more thing Thor had taken from him. Having finished his coffee, he stood up abruptly. 

“Thank you for the coffee,” he said roughly before stomping out. 

Gwen had no idea where that had come from, since she hadn’t said anything at all, much less something that might offend him. The only thing she could guess was that he didn’t like to talk about the Thor thing…but it wasn’t like she had prodded. He was the one that brought it up. She knew she’d have to stay on her toes around Loki in the future.


	10. In Which Lacey Asks Steve Out and Gwen and Loki Discuss Mythology

Lacey went all of Monday and Tuesday without hearing from Steve, and even though it wasn’t a long time, she began to worry. What if she had somehow scared him away on their date? What if he had met someone else? What if he had never even liked her in the first place and she was imagining the whole thing? By 8:00 on Wednesday evening, Lacey was starting to panic. She didn’t know if she should call him or wait and see if he contacted her further. Finally, at 8:30, he came in, half an hour before the store closed. All her fears dissolved when she noticed the look on his face when he saw her. 

“Hi.” 

“Hi.”

“Ma’am, maybe you could help me? I didn’t have the best day and I could use a hug.” 

Lacey went around the counter to comply. She let him wrap her up in a hug and they sat down at a table, since Lacey assumed not very many more people would come in. 

“What happened?”

“I just listened to Clint’s half of a phone conversation with Natasha.” 

“Ooh, that is bad. Who won the no-you-hang-up-first game?”

“I don’t know. They were still playing it when I left,” he said, quite seriously. Lacey laughed. 

“So…about that second date we talked about…” Lacey began. 

“I think you should choose what we do. Anything you want.” 

“Well…” she replied shyly, “I was wondering if perhaps I could make you dinner on Friday night. At my place.” Steve looked pleasantly surprised. 

“I’d like that very much.” 

The arrangements were made, and Lacey suddenly realized how happy she was whenever she was with Steve. 

*****

“Gwen, I’m going to need you to not be here on Friday night.” 

“Oh my gosh! Is Steeeeeve coming over?” Gwen teased her roommate. 

“…maybe.” 

“Don’t forget to clean your room and shave your legs.” 

“Gwen! He’s not coming over for THAT. I’m making him dinner.” 

“Is that what people are calling it these days?” 

“Shut up. I’m lucky to even be having this date with him. I hadn’t heard from him in three days and thought he didn’t like me anymore.” 

“Oh, that?” Gwen rolled her eyes. “That’s just because Tony told him not to call you right away. Pepper told me.” 

“If men only knew how much we freak out while waiting for them to call, they’d abolish this silly ‘wait three days’ rule.” 

“Are you kidding? This is Tony we’re talking about. If he knew that, he’d probably tell him to wait a month.” 

“True. So…are you finally going to tell me what was up with you and Loki the other day?”

“We’re both adopted, we both have siblings that our parents appreciate more than us, and all I know is, we were having a great conversation and then all of a sudden he got all grouchy and left. No idea why. I hadn’t even said anything that could have pissed him off.” 

“That’s weird. But regardless, I definitely noticed the sparks flying.” 

“What sparks? There were sparks?” 

Lacey answered with a look that Gwen understood perfectly. It said, ‘you know perfectly well what I’m talking about so don’t even try to hide it from me.’ The girls tried to discuss some potential reasons he could have gotten cranky, but neither of them could guess the true reason for his sudden change of mood – that he had started to like Gwen, but did not feel like anybody could ever love him over Thor. 

*****

When Loki appeared on Thursday with his book again, Gwen didn’t exactly know if she should try talking to him. Was he mad at her? It seemed like he was the last time he left, but she couldn’t imagine why. However, today he seemed to be in fine spirits. Gwen turned away from the counter to he admired her figure from behind in her fitted jeans and tight t-shirt. She faced him again and blushed as he smirked at her suggestively. Gwen couldn’t say she complained about what he was wearing either – the dark green shirt with a black vest and tie fit his slender body in a strangely alluring way. He had his top button undone and Gwen could not help but find the glimpse of his neck rather tantalizing. 

Pulling herself together, she handed him the coffee wordlessly. They made eye contact and she felt Loki’s stare as if it were a kiss. 

“Do you like the book?” Gwen finally managed to get out, although it came out a bit raspier than she had intended. 

“I do,” he replied, and his voice, on the other hand, seemed perfectly even.

“What’s your favorite myth?” 

Loki looked pensive for a moment, then a darkness passed over his face before he replied. 

“I like the story of Zeus and Hades. Zeus got everything he wanted in life, while Hades drew the bad lot in life, although being king of the underworld is at least being king of something. I also enjoyed reading about Pandora opening the box. She brought about chaos and made the world worse, although she had no devious purpose.” 

Gwen looked at him confusedly as he lowered his eyes. This man was so unpredictable. One moment he was opening up to her about his past, the next storming away; staring at her amorously one second and beating himself up the next. She could tell he had so many feelings, but she didn’t know how to react to his ever-changing moods. 

“But you forget how the story ends,” she replied carefully, “buried deepest inside was Hope.” 

Loki slowly raised his bright green eyes to hers again, and there was something in them she couldn’t quite place. There was pain, disbelief, uncertainty, even the beginning of tears, and something else. What was that something? 

Interrupting the moment, the bell on the door tinkled and they abruptly turned to see Thor. Gwen couldn’t help but be slightly annoyed. The guy had the worst timing. Every time she started to get to know Loki, he showed up with some new unbefitting offering for her. Thor was nice and she liked him as a person, but she was getting a little tired of the ill-advised gifts he kept showering her with. Gwen got the feeling he was trying to buy her affection, and it was nearly impossible to get to know Loki with Thor around. However, he always seemed so hopeful that she didn’t have the heart to reject his presents. 

“Lady Gwendolyn! I have brought you Midgardian confections!” He held out a gold-wrapped box of gourmet chocolates proudly. 

“Oh! Chocolates.” Gwen said in a flat voice. Unlike most women, she wasn’t really that into chocolate. She liked it once in a while, but she was certainly no chocoholic. 

“I was told they are of excellent quality.” 

“Yes, thank you, Thor.” 

By this point, Loki had made his way to the door. He now slipped out without a word, his head hanging slightly. The last time she had seen him, he left angrily – this time, he left dejectedly. Gwen wished she could get to know him well enough to parse out his feelings and attitudes. They just confused her and made her question whether she should stay away from him or do what she really wanted to: draw closer.


	11. In Which Lacey and Steve Fondue and Loki Sends a Drink

Before Steve arrived at Lacey’s on Friday night, she was freaking out. She’d had to change twice already because she kept spilling food on her clothes while cooking, and she’d cut her finger with a paring knife and had to quickly bandage it up. However, when she heard him knock on the door, everything was in pretty good shape, somehow. She answered the door in her light blue button-up dress and frilly yellow apron – she forgot to take it off before opening the front door. 

Steve stood in front of her wearing gray pants and a white button-up shirt with a black tie. He looked incredibly attractive, especially the way he was smiling at her. He looked down at her dress as if amused. Suddenly realizing she still had on her apron, she began untying it. 

“Oh! I forgot I still had that on. Come in. You look very handsome.”

“Thank you. You look beautiful. You always do.” 

Leading him inside, Lacey sat him down at a table she had set up in the living room, complete with lit candles. 

“Would you like some wine?” 

“Sure. It smells amazing in here.” 

Lacey poured some Sauvignon Blanc, which the internet had said was the perfect wine to pair with her dinner. Then she went back into the kitchen and came back with a small metal pot full of melted cheese that she put in the middle of the table, and next to it, a plate full of small pieces of bread, potatoes, meat, and vegetables. 

“Is that…” Steve stared into the pot, “fondue?” 

“When we first met, you said you’d never had it, so I thought maybe you’d like to try it.” 

“It looks delicious,” he paused for a moment, and then looked a little embarrassed, “how do you eat it?” 

“I’ll show you. Here, you take one of these sticks. Now you just stab whatever looks good, and dip it in the cheese, like this.” 

Steve dipped his piece of bread into the cheese then put it in his mouth and chewed. Lacey tried not to giggle at the adorable, thoughtful look on his face as he tried the fondue for the first time. After swallowing the piece of bread and taking a sip of wine, he paused for a moment and Lacey awaited his verdict nervously. She had never cooked for a man before. What if he hated her fondue? 

“That’s really good.” 

Lacey breathed a sigh of relief as they continued to spear various items and discussed which ones were the best when dipped into the cheese.

“You’d never guess what I thought fondue was when I first heard about it,” Steve blurted out, then his cheeks turned slightly pink as he realized what he’d just said and that now he’d be forced to elaborate. 

“What did you think it was?” 

“Uh…well…I, uh…” he stammered, trying to figure out a way to diffuse the situation without being awkward, “I thought it meant kissing…or maybe…something else too…I didn’t really know…” Kissing. He would just leave it at kissing. 

“Well, it’s not the weirdest word I’ve ever heard for kissing,” she joked. 

Steve looked at her through his impossibly long eyelashes and didn’t really know what to say. All the talk of kissing was making him want to do some, but he wasn’t brave enough to even kiss her hand. 

By the time they finished everything on the plate, they were stuffed, so Lacey decided to wait a bit before serving dessert. 

*****

Gwen was forced to go out with Clint and Natasha because everyone else seemed to be busy and they were the only ones that offered to let her tag along. She wasn’t thrilled about third-wheeling with them while they smooched all night, but she wasn’t about to put a damper on her best friend’s date. 

When she showed up to pick up Natasha and Clint, they had already had a couple of drinks and were slightly buzzed. They told her that they wanted to go to their favorite bar, Spades. The trio walked down the stairs to an underground door, and the bouncer checked their IDs and asked them for a password. Natasha told him the password, which was “Mikey sent me.” They were admitted and entered a 1920s-speakeasy-style bar. There was blues music playing, the waitresses and bartenders were dressed as gangsters and flapper girls, and there was art-deco décor everywhere. Gwen immediately loved it. She felt, perhaps, a little out of place in her denim miniskirt, green t-shirt, and leather vest, but it was the kind of place she and Lacey loved. 

Clint and Natasha immediately found a rounded booth in a dark corner, and it became immediately apparent why they liked this place – the booths were the perfect place to make out without bothering other people. 

After they ordered their drinks – beers for the couple, a long island iced tea for Gwen, since she needed something strong in order to endure her companions’ PDA – Clint and Natasha immediately started to get kind of kissy. Gwen was happy that they had each other. They were a cute couple, after all. The problem was that they were, well, too cute. 

Gwen was starting to feel legitimately uncomfortable when she suddenly noticed a man sitting alone at the bar. Long black, shiny hair, a dark green shirt, and black leather pants. Figuring her friends would probably not notice her missing, she took a large gulp of her long island for some courage, slipped out of the booth, and approached Loki from the back. When she got there, she looked over his shoulder to see what he was drinking. 

“Absinthe served traditionally – nice choice.” 

He turned abruptly, and she saw that his green shirt was open and under it was a white v-neck t-shirt that exposed a triangular patch of his chest. When he saw that it was her, he looked slightly taken aback. Frankly, Gwen thought he looked unbelievably sexy. 

When Loki saw what she was wearing, his mind immediately went in a thoroughly ungentlemanly direction. Her fitted green t-shirt was hugging all the right curves, the miniskirt gave him a fantastic view of her legs, and the leather vest…well, he wasn’t even going to think about that. If her outfit wasn’t driving him crazy enough, she had her hair in a ponytail. He didn’t know why, but he found that strangely enticing. Gwen sat down at the barstool next to him before he could object. 

“I find it relaxing,” Loki responded to her observation. 

“Were you…tense?” 

He looked at her out of the side of his eyes, but didn’t say anything. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Loki finally spoke, asking a seemingly random question. 

“What is your favorite of the Greek myths?” 

“I like the story of Hades and Persephone,” Gwen told him, then suddenly remembered that he had previously compared himself to Hades. 

“Lost in Hell – Persephone, / Take her head upon your knee: / Say to her, ‘My dear, my dear, / It is not so dreadful here.” 

“’Prayer to Persephone’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay,” Gwen recognized the poem. She paused, then continued, “Hades really cared about her. It must have been weird, though, for her to be passed back and forth with no say in the matter.” 

Loki thought about how he and Thor were competing for this enchanting woman, and, since Thor was the one bringing her gifts and always got his way, Loki assumed that Gwen wanted him to back off. He suddenly found himself unable to look at her. Maybe it was her hazel eyes looking at his, so unaware of how much they hurt him. Maybe it was her brown ponytail, the one he wanted to run his fingers through. Perhaps it was that damned outfit. Mostly, it was the fact that every time he saw her, he wanted to see her again and again, but he knew that Thor would win her over and she would be just one more thing that his brother had taken from him. 

He knew he had to escape before he did something he regretted. He quickly got the bartender’s attention and whispered something to him, paid, then told Gwen he had to go and left abruptly. Gwen pondered what had just happened, more confused by Loki than ever. She wished she could get some sort of clue about how he felt about her. 

The story goes that Hades managed to be with Persephone for a third of the year by getting her to eat some pomegranate seeds while she was with him in the underworld.   
When Gwen had finished her long island, the bartender set a martini glass full of a juicy-looking red liquid in front of her. She tried to tell him that she hadn’t ordered another drink, but the bartender explained.

“It’s from the guy you were with earlier.” 

It was a pomegranate martini. Even though Loki felt defeated once again, he still had to leave his mark – he had to let Gwen know that he wanted her to be his. 

*****

Lacey gathered up the dishes and brought them to the kitchen and began soaking the fondue pot. When she came back into the living room, she saw Steve sitting on the couch with a photo album open in his lap. 

“Oh, gosh, you found my embarrassing pictures.” She sat down next to him to see which exact humiliating photo he was looking at. 

“Are these your parents?” 

“Yeah. That’s mom and dad. That’s my brother, right there. All three of them live in Colorado. That’s where I grew up.” 

“You look happy.” He was looking at a picture of her at about 10 years old, hugging her younger brother while her parents stood above them. 

“I was. I’m lucky to have a good family.” 

“Do you miss them?” 

“Sometimes. I visit them on occasion, sometimes on holidays. I miss my brother a lot. What…what ever happened to your parents?” 

“My father died of mustard gas. My mom was a nurse in the TB ward. She got sick and couldn’t recover. They were both gone when I was young.” 

“I’m sorry,” Lacey regretted bringing it up. 

They looked at pictures and Steve smiled as he saw her childhood. She acted mortified when he discovered her dorky middle school pictures, but he thought she was cute. He was fascinated by the pictures. Seeing all the things from her past that made her the beautiful, interesting, wonderful girl sitting next to him was exciting. 

“Are you ready for dessert?” she finally asked. 

He sat back down at the table and she brought out the chocolate fondue in a saucepan with a plate of strawberries, bananas, cake, marshmallows, and graham crackers. When they finished dessert, he insisted on doing the dishes for her, despite her many protests. She sat on the counter next to the sink while he did them so they could talk. They talked about various differences between the 1940s and 2013…from fashion, to culture, to slang. When he finished the dishes, it was getting late, so he told her he had to leave. 

When they were at the door, he looked into her eyes for a moment. He leaned in closer, and she was sure he was about to kiss her. However, he backed away quickly, then pulled her into a hug. A moment later, she was closing the door behind him.


	12. In Which There Are Misunderstandings

When Gwen finally arrived home, the first thing she demanded to know was if Steve had kissed Lacey yet, and she was appalled to find out he hadn’t. However, she had no doubt that it would be soon, so she told her friend not to worry about it. Lacey asked about Gwen’s night out. 

“Will Clint and Natasha’s faces eventually fuse together? Will we ever know who hung up first? And most importantly…who loves the other one more? Tune in next week for these answers and more during another episode of Clintasha Makes Everyone Uncomfortable!” 

Gwen laughed at her friend’s joke. “Pretty much. I just kind of left them to make out in a booth. I ran into Loki, though,” she mentioned, telling Lacey about the random brief conversation they’d had and especially about the pomegranate martini incident. 

“What do you think that means? He had compared himself to Hades at one point and there I was comparing myself to Persephone, and he left all suddenly, but then sends me something pomegranate related? What is up with that?” 

“I think it means he wants you to be the queen of his, uh…underworld,” Lacey raised her eyebrows at her friend to convey the suggestive meaning. 

“Then why does he keep acting so weird?”

“He’s a man.” 

“Fair enough.”

*****

On Saturday, Steve came into the store, wanting to see Lacey again. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, the most casual look she had seen him wear. She was just showing him a cool World War II book they had just gotten in, peering over his arm as he flipped through it, when the door opened. 

The person who entered was a handsome young man in a US Marines dress uniform. When Lacey glanced up and saw him, her face lit up and she ran to the door. 

“Kenny!” she smiled as she ran toward him. 

“Lace! There you are!” He picked her up in a hug and spun her around before putting her down. 

“I haven’t seen you in so long! How have you been?” 

Gwen looked over at Steve. He was standing with the book limply resting on his hands, but his eyes were focused on Lacey and the newcomer. Anyone who was paying attention could see that he looked dejected. He was crazy about Lacey, and he just looked on sadly as she chatted with the Marine, beaming and laughing at all his jokes. He had just heard her say to the guy, “of course you can stay with us!” Gwen thought she noticed Steve’s shoulders fall as if he’d been defeated. Casually pretending to straighten some books on the shelves, she made her way over near where Steve was watching. 

“It’s so nice that Lacey’s cousin could come visit her.”

Steve’s head snapped over toward Gwen. “Cousin?” 

“Yeah, that’s her cousin Kenny. They’re really close and talk all the time, but she hasn’t gotten to see him in a couple years.” 

Steve could not have looked, or felt, more relieved. For a moment he had thought he’d lost Lacey to some better guy. He heard Lacey tell her cousin that she had someone for him to meet, and suddenly the two of them were walking toward Steve. 

“Kenny, this is Steve. This is my cousin Kenny.” As Lacey introduced them, Gwen noticed Kenny’s instant look of recognition when he heard the name of his new acquaintance. Lacey had clearly told Kenny about Steve. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” 

“You too. How long are you in town?” 

“Just for the night, unfortunately. I have an overnight layover on my way to Spain. I’m meeting my fiancé’s family, they’re from there.” 

“Oh, congratulations.” 

“Thank you!” 

Lacey was glad her cousin and the guy she was dating seemed to be getting along. It was important to her that the people in her life approved of each other, and she greatly valued Kenny’s judgment. She knew the two guys could be great friends – they had a lot in common. Both were honest, hardworking, caring men who wanted to serve their country. 

It also meant a lot to her that Steve was showing interest in a member of her family. She hadn’t really known him that long, but when she saw him being so friendly to her cousin, Lacey started to realize she was already falling for Steve Rogers. 

*****

Loki watched the door of the bookstore from afar. He didn’t have any intention of ever going in again, not after Gwen had made it clear that she didn’t want to be, as she’d called it, “passed back and forth.” Clearly, she wanted him to leave her and Thor in peace. This was only confirmed by the fact that as Loki was watching, Thor walked into the bookstore carrying a wrapped box, undoubtedly for Gwen. 

*****

Gwen cringed when she heard Thor come in and say her name. She turned around and saw him holding a small box messily wrapped with red paper. He shoved the box toward her and she took it, dreading to know what was inside. When she got it opened, she peered inside. 

“…a candle?” 

“It is intended to perfume your home with a pleasant fragrance when burned.” 

“Wow. How about that? Thanks, Thor.” His gifts were seriously getting weirder, but he just always looked so hopeful and had such sweet intentions that Gwen felt too bad to say anything. Besides that, the more Thor was around, the weirder Loki acted. It seemed like Loki was fine talking with her until Thor appeared or was mentioned. Then he would start acting angry, upset, or just plain sad. 

Did Loki think that she didn’t like him? That she preferred Thor? She couldn’t imagine how it could be possible that he’d think that. In her mind, it was abundantly obvious to anyone watching that she was fascinated with Loki and annoyed by Thor’s inept gestures. 

Thor didn’t even know her – he had no idea that she was adopted, that she felt like the disappointing sibling, that she liked mythology and poetry and felt protective of her best friend and wanted the kind of love that comes from a deep connection between two people, not the kind where one buys the other one lots of stuff. 

When she was with Loki…she felt like just maybe, they could make each other finally feel good enough for someone. For each other.


	13. In Which Loki Causes and Feels Pain

A couple days later, when Kenny had left and everything was back to normal, Steve called Lacey and asked her if he could cook for her in return, since she had been so kind to prepare their dinner last time. He didn’t think he’d be able to make something as great as her fondue, but Lacey didn’t mind – she was by no means high-maintenance. They agreed that she would go to his apartment on Saturday night. Lacey could hardly wait the five days. 

Tony, Pepper, and Bruce came in on Thursday and Pepper finally had a chance to catch up on Gwen’s and Lacey’s lives. Bruce and Tony sat off to the side, discussing a scientific principle Lacey and Gwen hadn’t even heard of. All of a sudden, Tony threw his coffee on Bruce, seemingly out of nowhere. 

“Ah! What the hell, Tony?” Bruce stood up, his blue button-up shirt stained with the hot coffee. Tony stared up expectantly. “Stop trying to get me to turn into the other guy.” 

“Tony,” Pepper said from several feet away, “If you don’t behave, I won’t do that thing you like tonight.” 

Bruce adjusted his glasses awkwardly, Gwen and Lacey exchanged an eyebrow raise, and Tony suddenly seemed very motivated to stop trying to provoke his friend into turning into the Hulk. Lacey pointed Bruce toward the bathroom where he could clean up his shirt. Tony suddenly realized he had no coffee. 

“Can I get another one of those lattes?”

“No. No more coffee for you.” Pepper scolded. 

Suddenly, Gwen saw something outside and rushed out of there. As Gwen was running out, Clint and Natasha were coming in. 

“Woah. Who lit a fire under her ass?” Clint asked. 

“She saw Loki out there.” Lacey explained. 

“Huh. So is she into that whole kneel-before-me, bow-to-my-glowstick-of-destiny, domination thing?” Tony asked Lacey. 

“What is wrong with you?” Pepper asked. It was clear to everyone that Pepper would not be doing the thing Tony liked that night. 

*****

“Loki!” Gwen saw him walking down the deserted sidewalk. “Wait!” She caught up to him. She put a hand on his arm to turn him around and gasped when she saw the fire in his blue eyes. She thought that she could have sworn they were green before – she was sure of it. It reminded her of the sheer power he had exuded the first time he saw him, only this time it was angrier. He grabbed her arms roughly and shook her.

“What? What do you want from me?” he yelled. “Do you want to talk about your sister as if your feelings of inadequacy are anywhere near the inferiority I have felt? Do you want to compare us to mythological characters, as if I wasn’t the monster of myths?” 

Gwen should have been frightened, but she wasn’t. Loki looked into her eyes and saw only the slightest hint of fear. Mostly, it was just concern. Concern and compassion. She didn’t tell him that he was hurting her arms, although he was. When he realized how hard his fingers were digging into her arms, and he knew that if he tightened his hold further, he would leave bruises. As his grip on her loosened, she saw his eyes turn back to the green she was familiar with, and they started filling up with water. He let go of her and looked down at his hands in horror, backing away from her slowly. A tear started to roll down his cheek and he turned and ran as fast as he could down the street. 

Lacey wasn’t particularly glad to hear that the man her friend liked had hurt her, but Gwen tried to explain the change in eye color, the way he had called himself a monster, and the way he looked horrified at himself as he ran away, crying. 

“It’s like it wasn’t…him,” Gwen said. “You should have seen his face, he looked like he hated himself.” 

“You really like him.” 

“I really do.” 

“Just…be careful, okay?” Lacey made her friend promise.


	14. In Which Steve and Lacey Get Snowed In

Lacey woke up on Saturday morning to see snow falling outside her window. It stopped halfway through the day, then re-started more strongly in the late afternoon. She put on her tan-colored coat-dress and black tights and drove to the address he had given her for their date. He admitted her into his apartment and he was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. 

Steve’s apartment was a small studio. There was very little in it: a couch placed in front of a small TV, a bed, a bathroom, and a kitchen area. There was practically nothing by way of decoration, only a rug under the couch. The rest was wood floor and white walls. It looked masculine and simple, matching its tenant perfectly. 

“Did you get here safely? It looks pretty rough out there.” 

“I got here just fine. It’s a little blizzardy, but I’m from Colorado, I’m used to driving in snow.” 

It was only 5:00, and they had figured they’d just sit and talk for a while until they got hungry. However, he did bring her a large mug of hot chocolate. When she had finished it, he went into the kitchen to make her some more and she noticed a small framed picture on top of the TV. She went over and picked it up, and it was a picture of Steve, except several inches shorter and quite a few clothing sizes smaller. He came back in and was a little embarrassed that she had noticed the picture of him when he was less attractive. 

“You look so different now.” 

“It’s a big improvement, huh?” 

“I wouldn’t say that. Just different.” She honestly thought he looked attractive both ways. 

“When Dr. Erskine got me set up for the experiment and helped me become a soldier, he told me the night before the procedure not to forget who I was. To stay a good man. I was with him when he got shot, and before he died, he placed one finger over my heart to remind me. I keep the picture there so that I’ll never forget who I am. He was the first person to ever believe in me, and I don’t want to let him down.” 

“You could never let anyone down.” 

As it started to get dark, they could hear the wind outside and see the blizzard outside the window. Steve realized Lacey might be hungry, so he decided to start cooking. Besides, he didn’t want her to be there too late – he wanted to make sure she got home safely. 

“I hope you don’t mind if it’s nothing fancy,” he apologized. “I was thinking of making grilled cheese and tomato soup.” 

“That’s perfect.” Lacey said genuinely. It was one of her favorite meals. 

Steve started buttering bread and heating up a pan on the electric stove. Just as he poured the soup into a pot and before he’d had a chance to put the cheese sandwich in the pan, the lights in his apartment flickered before shutting off and submerging them in complete darkness and utter silence. The lights, the stove, the refrigerator, his alarm clock, the heating…everything shut down. 

“You got to be kidding me,” Steve said. Lacey sat in the dark awkwardly. “I’m going to go check out the fuse box. Do you mind waiting here? I’ll be right back.” 

“Not at all, go ahead.” 

Steve left the apartment and was gone for several minutes. When he finally came back, there was still no power. 

“Whole building’s out. It’s because of the blizzard. It looks like we’re going to have to try to wait it out.” He paused. “I’m sorry about this, I should have rescheduled when it started snowing.” 

“No, it’s not your fault. Besides, I don’t mind. Really.” As she was saying this, Steve pulled a flashlight out of a drawer and turned it on. He began rummaging through the other drawers and pulled out about six mis-matched candles and a box of matches. With all six of the candles lit and set up around the studio apartment, it was just light enough to see each other’s faces in the dim, flickering glow. 

“It looks like dinner is going to have to be even more simple than intended.” Steve began opening his cupboards to see what he had that could be eaten without being cooked, and also checked his fridge for anything they could have before it went bad. “It looks like we have: two un-grilled cheese sandwiches, a box of saltines, peanut butter, tomatoes, and chocolate milk. I’m sorry,” he told her, looking down into her eyes, lit by the candles. “I wanted this to be nice.” 

“It IS nice.” 

Steve got an idea and opened a closet, from which he pulled out a small battery-operated radio. He turned it on and started fiddling around with the stations until he found one that played old jazz, big band, and easy listening. They sat down at the tiny table in his kitchen with a candle between them and ate cheese and tomato sandwiches, saltines with peanut butter, and chocolate milk while they listened to the music. When they were finished, they brought their plates to the sink and then stood awkwardly. 

“Are you cold?” He asked, realizing that the heating wasn’t working.

“Not yet.” Just as Lacey said it, Tommy Dorsey’s recording of “Stardust” started playing on the radio. “Oh! I love this song!” She stood for a moment hesitantly, then asked, “Would you dance with me?” 

“Um…” Steve ran a hand through his hair awkwardly, “I don’t know how.” 

“I can teach you. If you want.” He nodded slowly and she took his hand and led him to the middle of the wood floor. She placed his right hand on the middle of her back and put her left hand on his shoulder, then placed her right hand in his left. “It’s really easy, if you can walk, you can dance.” She began stepping from side to side with him, and taught him how to twirl her, should he get the inclination. It took just a few seconds for him to pick it up. 

They swayed slowly to the music, not saying anything, but looking at each other with smiles on their lips. Steve enveloped her hand with his and held it to his chest. While the date hadn’t gone as planned it was much better than his plan had been. He was dancing with a beautiful girl for the first time, and by candlelight. It was the most romantic moment of his life, and for that matter, Lacey’s. 

Steve lifted his arm and she twirled under it, ending up a couple steps away from him and her hand slipped out of his. He looked into her eyes and she smiled at him, encouraging him to grab her and resume the dance. Instead, he took a step closer to her and placed his hands gently on her upper arms near her elbows. He leaned his head down, and Lacey closed her eyes and placed her hands on his chest, expecting him to kiss her. However, he rested his forehead on hers, his mouth a couple inches away from her lips, and stopped. Lacey waited as they just stood like that.

After what felt like an hour, but was only a few seconds, Steve whispered, “I don’t know if you want me to kiss you or not.” 

“You don’t?” she whispered back. She didn’t think she could make it clearer. 

“No. I’ve never been good at picking up on the signal.” She had no idea why both of them were whispering, but she continued. 

“Steve?”

“Yeah?” 

“I want you to kiss me.” With that helpful reassurance, he removed his forehead from hers and leaned down, took just one extra second to make sure his head was angled properly, and gently touched his lips to hers. It was the softest, most romantic kiss she had ever received. Steve broke the kiss and looked at her to gauge her reaction. She had a dreamy smile on her face. He pressed his lips to hers again and his hands left her arms and cupped the sides of her face, allowing him to kiss her with more passion. She moved her hands to his sides, feeling the soft fabric of his shirt. The song ended, but neither of them noticed until the shrill alarm sound of a weather alert blasted out of the radio. They both jumped and broke the kiss. 

“The National Weather Service in New York has issued a blizzard warning, which is in effect from 9pm to 6am Sunday morning, Eastern Time. Snow is expected to increase tonight and continue overnight. Accumulations of 6-12 inches are expected by early Sunday. The brunt of the storm is expected this evening and overnight. Snow, heavy at times, will be combined with northeast winds of 30-35 miles per hour, and local gusts near 50 miles per hour. This will create very dangerous to near impossible driving conditions on Saturday night.” 

“It looks like you’re stuck here all night.” 

“I can sleep on your couch,” Lacey offered. They both felt a little awkward about the situation. “I’d better call Gwen just to let her know what’s going on so she doesn’t worry.” She pulled out her phone. “Gwen? I’m staying at Steve’s tonight.” 

“WHAT? Oh my gosh, are you guys going to do it?” 

“No!” Lacey blushed, hoping Steve didn’t notice (although he did). “There’s a blizzard and the National Weather Service recommends not driving all night for safety purposes.” 

“Did he kiss you yet?” 

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” 

“HE DID! He’s standing right there, isn’t he?” 

“Love you too, bye!” She hung up. 

“So…do you want to change into something more comfortable?” Steve asked, then turned a bit rosy when he realized what that sounded like. Lacey knew what he meant, though. She would be uncomfortable sleeping in a dress and tights. 

“Um…if you have something I could wear.” 

Steve went over to the small dresser near the bed and pulled out a few items. He handed a couple of things to Lacey – a blue-and-white striped men’s pajama top and a pair of black socks. 

“This is all I really have.” 

“That’ll work fine.” Lacey made her way into the bathroom with the items to change. The shirt was so long on her, and the socks so tall, that the only part of her that was exposed were her knees. The sleeves were way too long, so she rolled them up so that they’d free her hands. She cautiously came out of the bathroom, a little self-conscious. She saw Steve from the back wearing the pants that went with the top she had on. He was shirtless, and she stared at the muscles in his back as he pulled a white t-shirt over his head. As he was pulling it down over his torso, he turned and saw her. She got a glimpse of his abs before the soft white fabric fell to cover them. 

When he saw her, his mouth curved up into a smile. To any man, there’s something alluring about a woman wearing his clothes, and perhaps even more so when the clothes are much too large for her. She smiled back at him, when she noticed a small bookshelf in the corner. Being unable to resist, she observed the titles, and immediately slipped out a battered, hard-cover illustrated copy of Alice in Wonderland. 

“This is one of my favorite books,” she told Steve. 

“That was my mother’s copy. It’s one of my favorite possessions.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry if I wasn’t supposed to touch it!” 

“No, I don’t mind. You can look at it.” 

Lacey took the book over to the couch and set it on her lap, then rubbed her arms. It was starting to get cold in there. Steve opened a closet and pulled out a fleece blanket, bringing it to the couch. He sat down next to Lacey and unfolded the blanket, placing it over both of their legs. Then he sat back and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close so that her back was against his chest. She was instantly warmed by his arms. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. 

Lacey flipped through the book and looked at the illustrations in the flickering candlelight. The quiet somehow made it more romantic. She liked having no sounds of electricity, no lights, no TV. It was like being in the past. 

“Do you want to read it?” Steve asked. 

Lacey lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up at him. “Sure.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips, then another on her forehead, and took the book from her, opening to the first page as she replaced her head on his shoulder. 

“Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do; once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, ‘and what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’” He read aloud. 

Steve was a few chapters in when he realized that Lacey’s breathing was far too even. She was asleep, snuggled up against his chest, and looked very content. Now he had some logistics to figure out. Should he stay there and fall asleep too with her in his arms? Wake her up? Gently lower her onto the couch? None of these seemed right. Finally, he quietly closed the book, lifted the blanket off of them, ever-so-slowly, so he wouldn’t wake her. That was when he discovered a new challenge: lifting her without disturbing her peaceful sleep. When he moved, she sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, but didn’t wake up. 

He gently placed her in his bed, tucking the covers around her. She turned onto her side, hugging his pillow comfortably. Steve couldn’t resist kissing her forehead before blowing out the candles and returning to the couch, covering himself with the blanket he had just shared with Lacey. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	15. In Which Steve Cooks

Lacey awoke to the wonderful smell of coffee and bacon. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet, and she was stuck with a dilemma: she was warm and comfortable, but she knew that in order to have the bacon, she’d have to get up. Opening her eyes, she squinted at the sunlight coming through the window. It took her a moment to realize where she was and that Gwen wasn’t the source of the marvelous smells. When her eyes had adjusted to the light, she noticed a mug with steam coming out of it sitting on the end table. 

She sat up and remembered that she was in Steve’s apartment, and, apparently, in his bed. The last thing she remembered was being cuddled with him on the couch. Desperately needing the caffeine, as she did every morning, Lacey took a large sip of the coffee and felt much more equipped to get out of the bed. 

Taking the coffee with her, she went into the kitchen area, where Steve was standing over a pan of scrambled eggs, still in his pajamas. She took another large sip of coffee, then set her mug down on the counter and hugged Steve from behind. 

“Good morning,” she said, her voice a little bit raspy because she wasn’t fully awake yet. Steve decided not to mention how sexy he found it. Lacey leaned against the counter, drinking her coffee. 

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” 

“Apparently. Did you…carry me to your bed last night?” 

“Yes. I wanted to make sure you were comfortable.” 

“Where did you sleep?” 

“The couch.”

“Why didn’t you just give me the couch?” 

Steve paused for a moment. Lacey noticed that his hair was a bit disheveled, and she wasn’t about to complain about it. “During the war, some of the guys would talk about how they missed waking up to a pretty girl in their bed. I guess I wondered what that might be like.” 

Lacey blushed and smiled. Between the almost cheeky thing he had just said and the way his hair was sticking up on the back of his head, she couldn’t stop herself from getting up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck, and giving him a kiss. 

“Where did you get all this stuff?” Since Steve was cooking, clearly the power was back on, but any eggs and bacon he had would have gone bad from not being refrigerated. 

“There’s a corner store downstairs, I just ran down really quickly before you woke up.” 

“You did that just to make me breakfast?” 

“Well, I was hungry too.” 

Steve scooped a small pile of scrambled eggs onto a plate next to two slices of bacon and a slice of buttered toast, then put the remaining eggs on a plate with a much larger amount of food. He brought the two plates to the table and the couple sat down to eat. 

“Lacey?” Steve hesitated. “Can I call you my girlfriend?” 

“Of course.” 

When the roads were clear enough to drive home and Lacey was back in her clothes, Steve walked her to her car. After one last, lingering kiss, he watched her drive away, being unable to stop smiling as his lips still felt warm from hers being on them. His mouth couldn’t stop smiling all day.


	16. In Which Loki Takes Care of Gwen

It was still snowing on Monday, and the roads weren’t completely safe, but they were okay if you drove carefully. Gwen got to the store after Lacey had opened it up and began walking up the sidewalk to get to the door. Not realizing that the cement was icy, she slipped and fell hard onto her back. When she sat up, her head felt like there was a knife in the back of it. 

“Gwen!” Loki ran up, seemingly out of nowhere, although he must have been nearby to see it happen. “Are you hurt?” 

“I hit my head, but I think I’m okay.” 

Loki helped her up and led her into the coffee shop. She was holding her head, it hurt pretty badly. He sat her down in a chair and kneeled to look into her face. 

“What happened? Is she okay?” Lacey jumped out from behind the counter to go over to her friend. 

“I slipped on the ice and hit my head.” 

Lacey grabbed a glass and filled it up with some water and gave it to Gwen. 

“Do you need anything? How badly does it hurt?” 

“Really guys, I’m fine,” Gwen insisted. Loki was still kneeling in front of Gwen. 

“I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion. I’m going to call Bruce to come look at it.” Lacey went off to make the phone call. 

Bruce was there ten minutes later, wearing a purple button-up shirt and brown pants. He put his glasses on and took Loki’s place kneeling in front of Gwen. He examined her eyes to see if there was any sign of cognition problems, then gently felt the back of her head. Gwen cringed as he touched the part she had hit. Loki was standing off to the side, looking impatient and concerned. Lacey couldn’t help but think it was a little sweet, how worried he looked. 

“Do you have a headache?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Are you seeing spots of light?” 

“No.” 

“Can you follow my finger with your eyes?” Bruce held up his index finger and slowly moved it back and forth in front of Gwen’s face as he watched her eyes. 

“Can you stand up, please? Balance on one foot? Now the other one. Okay, you can sit down again. Can you tell me, what’s two times four?” 

“Eight.”

“What’s nine divided by three?” 

“Three.” 

“What’s eight times seven?” 

“Uh…” Gwen hesitated. “I’m not really a math person.” 

“That’s okay. Who’s the president of the United States?” 

“Barak Obama.” 

“Who was the president before that?”

“George W. Bush.” 

“Before that?” 

“Bill Clinton.” 

“Okay, I think you’re going to be fine. You have a minor concussion. I think you should take the rest of the day off. I wouldn’t watch TV or read, nothing that’s straining on the eyes. Don’t have any alcohol. You can sleep for an hour or so, but make sure you don’t sleep any longer than that. Try not to move around too much. I wouldn’t drive home, have someone take you or call a cab. Call me if there are any changes or if you need anything.” 

“I’ll call you a cab,” Lacey said, pulling out her phone. 

“I can drive her home.” It was Loki. He was looking down at Gwen with green eyes full of tenderness. To Lacey, it was clear that he really wanted her to be okay. Lacey had been a bit apprehensive since finding out he had grabbed her best friend, but she could see in his eyes now that he would never intentionally hurt her. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes,” he responded to Lacey sincerely. “I want to help, to make sure she is not in danger.” 

Lacey looked at Gwen. “You have my number if you need me. And Bruce’s.” Then she looked up at Loki. “Thank you.” 

*****

Gwen stared at the glossy black Corvette admiringly. Loki opened the passenger’s side door and helped Gwen inside, buckling her in. Then he got in the driver’s side and twisted the key in the ignition. The engine growled to life and Loki began to drive in the direction Gwen indicated. 

The drive was quiet, save Gwen occasionally giving directions. She felt a little awkward about their last interaction, and he felt bad about it too, but neither of them felt comfortable enough to bring it up. When they got to Gwen’s apartment, Loki walked behind her up the stairs and went inside with her. She sat down on the couch and he stood there for a moment, and for the first time all day she got a good look at him. He was wearing his usual color scheme – black pants, and a dark green Henley shirt with a black overcoat and his green and gold scarf. 

“Is there anything you need?” 

“No.” 

When he had gotten her answer, Loki turned and started for the door. 

“No, don’t go,” Gwen begged. She saw his back stiffen. “I mean…I wouldn’t mind the company,” she said more softly. 

Slowly, he turned around, his green eyes somehow looking even brighter than usual against his pale face. He looked unsure, but removed his coat, hung it on the hook on the door, and sat down on the couch, on the opposite side from Gwen. 

“You know, when I was growing up, I never tried to be troublesome to my parents,” Gwen said. To Loki it seemed a bit random, and Gwen wasn’t entirely sure why she was bringing it up at first, but it came out of her mouth and she decided to just go with it. “I’ve tried everything possible to please them, to get even a fraction of the praise my sister has gotten. I’ve tried sharing my passions with them. I tried the major they wanted me to have in college. I tried the job they wanted me to have, working for a lawyer. But they never seemed to care about what I want. It always just seemed like the more I tried to please them, the more miserable I was, and they still didn’t approve of me.” Loki didn’t say anything, allowing Gwen to continue. “When I learned how to dance, they didn’t come to watch me. When I got my hair cut the way I liked it, they told me I looked like a boy. And all I kept hearing, all I still hear, is about Kayla’s accomplishments and how pretty Kayla looks and how smart Kayla is and how she’s going to be someone. I guess that means that to them, I’m going to be no one.” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

Gwen thought for a moment, trying to figure it out herself. Then it came to her. “Because you’re the only person I’ve met who understands how I feel,” she explained. Loki didn’t respond, just looked down at the couch cushion for a few minutes. Finally, he looked up at Gwen again and spoke. 

“I always heard how unworthy I was. I was never worthy to lift the hammer, or to take the throne of Asgard. As a child, and as a young man, I heard my father –” Loki paused and corrected himself, “I heard Odin tell Thor about all of the things that would one day be his. Never was anything promised to me.” 

Listening to Loki talk, Gwen honestly couldn’t blame him for the crimes he had committed. He had so much anger and so much pain, and everything he had done was his way of crying out for anyone to listen to him, to feel for him, to care for him. 

“Even then, I did not resent Thor for those things,” Loki continued. “I envied him, of course, but I believed him fit to be a great king. It wasn’t until I found out that Odin had never loved me - that he only meant to use me – then I realized that everything I had ever wanted had always been given to Thor. What’s more, when he was banished from Asgard, I was blamed for his exile, although it could have been prevented had he heeded my admonition. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened, if…” Loki didn’t finish.

“If someone had thought you were good enough,” Gwen finished. Loki looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Suddenly, Gwen remembered that she had a guest in her home. “Oh, do you want anything to drink? I can make some hot apple cider or something.” She started to get up, but Loki stood. 

“Let me get it. I will find what I need.” He went into the kitchen and Gwen heard cupboards and drawers opening as Loki searched for the materials. A few minutes later, he appeared with two steaming mugs full of warm apple-cinnamon goodness. The two sipped their cider quietly for quite a while, the silence not being awkward at all.

“When did you find out you were adopted?” Loki finally asked. 

“I’ve always known, I must have been told when I was a young child.” 

“I was told only when I discovered that I was…different.” 

“He shouldn’t have hidden it from you.” 

“Odin claimed to have been protecting me, but he never told me because he had kidnapped me for political gain. I had never understood as a child why Odin had told me that Thor and I were both born to be kings, even though only one of us could rule Asgard. Like Zeus and Hades, in the mythology book. One sat up in the clouds while the other was merely the most powerful man in hell.” 

“At least Hades found someone to love. Zeus was just kind of a man-whore.” 

“But Hades had to trick her into staying with him.” 

“Maybe she was smart enough to see through his trick but wanted to stay anyway.” 

Loki didn’t have a response to that, and didn’t dare consider the notion that she might be flirting with him. They continued to talk about their families for the better part of the morning. At around 1:00, Gwen’s stomach growled. She blushed, knowing that Loki had heard the noise. However, Loki took it in stride. 

“You’re hungry. You need sustenance. I will get it,” he said before she could get up. 

When Loki hadn’t come back for about twenty minutes, Gwen finally got up and stood in the doorway to the kitchen to see Loki stirring a pot on her stove. “What’s cooking’?” 

Loki turned around quickly. “What are you doing up?” he demanded. “You were ordered not to move.” 

“I was told not to move around too much. I’m not a delicate little flower,” Gwen said, sitting down at the kitchen table. 

“I suppose you’re not. You don’t really obey orders, do you?” 

“I do when I want to.” 

Loki scooped potato soup into two bowls and put them on the table. 

“Eat your soup.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“I prefer Master.” 

“Yes, Loki, Master of Soup,” Gwen said, somewhat sarcastically. Loki looked like he enjoyed more than Gwen expected he would. She shoveled a spoonful of the soup into her mouth and was amazed at how good it was. It was the best potato soup she’d ever had. 

“You made this from the stuff in my kitchen?” 

“No, I conjured magical ingredients from thin air.” Gwen literally couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. She stared at him with a spoonful of soup dangling in front of her mouth. He winked at her. 

“So, you really are the Master of Soup.” 

“Among other things.” 

When they finished the soup, Loki grabbed the dishes and made Gwen go back to the couch. She heard water running and suspected Loki was rinsing the bowls. Gwen grabbed her laptop and opened her iTunes – there was nothing wrong with her listening to a little background music. She set the laptop open on the table while it began playing music. Loki came back into the room and heard the music – “Skyfall” by Adele – and noticed the laptop. 

“Were you looking at that screen? You aren’t supposed to look at screens.” 

“Relax, Soupmaster, I didn’t look at it for very long. Soupmaster. Ugh…sounds like a douchey top 40 DJ. I like Master of Soup better.” 

“If you do not obey your instructions, I will have to force you to.” 

“Why do you care, anyway?”

“Because you are under my protection right now.” Gwen looked at the computer screen to change the song, and Loki took the laptop from her and closed it. 

“I don’t like people touching my computer,” she complained. 

“I told you I would force you to obey if you did not. I will make sure you are not bored. Do you have books?” 

“I own a bookstore. Of course I have books. My room is the door on the left over there, the bookshelf is on the right wall. I challenge you to find my favorite. And don’t go snooping around when you’re in there.” 

“I assure you, if I wanted to snoop, I would be able to do it with or without your permission.” Loki was gone for about two minutes, then came back with a battered paperback. “This is your favorite.” 

Gwen was speechless when he held up Peter Pan. How did he know? Loki sat down on the couch and opened to the first page. 

“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, ‘Oh, why can't you remain like this forever!’ This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up.” 

Loki read the first chapter of Gwen’s favorite book, then noticed that her eyes were closed. She was asleep. Loki didn’t know how long she had been asleep, but he knew that she only had about an hour before she should be woken up according to Bruce. While he let her nap, he went to the kitchen and finished washing the dishes and the pot he had used to make the soup. When he was finished, he heard a buzzing noise and saw Gwen’s phone sitting on the coffee table. It was Lacey. 

“Yes?” He answered gruffly. 

“Uh…is this Loki? I’m just calling to check on Gwen. Is she okay?” 

“I assure you, she is well-protected. She is sleeping and I will wake her soon. I paid the utmost attention to Banner’s orders, and I am fully capable of making sure she is safe.” 

“Um…okay. Thanks. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.” 

Loki hung up without responding. He had the distinct feeling that Lacey doubted his ability to properly care for her friend – or perhaps it was his intentions she doubted. However, he was determined to prove that he would always protect Gwen, no matter what. He placed a hand on Gwen’s shoulder and shook her, firmly, but not roughly. 

“Hmm?” Gwen’s eyes opened. 

“It is time to awaken.” 

“Why are you doing this?” When Loki looked confused at her question, she elaborated. “Why are you here, making me soup and helping me?” Gwen had an idea of the answer, but she was trying to get him to confirm or deny it. 

“You’re the one who asked me to stay.” 

“You’re the one who offered to take me home.” 

“You’re the one who hit your head.” 

Gwen didn’t have a response to that. All day, Loki had been acting a certain way, and now he was being elusive again. Why did he keep pushing her away? She had hoped that he’d pick up on the hint when she asked why he was there. She wasn’t brave enough to ask him how he felt…to see if he felt the same way that she did. 

“Tell me about Asgard.” Gwen finally said, deciding that changing the subject was a better option for now. 

Loki began to tell her all about Asgard - about the rainbow bridge and the Biofrost, about the palace he grew up in. She listened with interest. It sounded so different than anything she’d ever seen. The rest of the day passed quickly while she was listening to him, and soon Lacey arrived home. Loki informed her that Gwen was in the bathroom and began to put on his coat. 

“Loki.” He turned. “Thank you for being here for her. I’m glad she had someone like you here to make sure she was safe.” 

Loki just nodded. Gwen came out and he gave her a brief “goodbye” before closing the door firmly behind him.


	17. In Which Loki Gets What He Wants and Thor Learns a Lesson

Gwen was back to work on Wednesday and feeling much better. Loki had called her every couple of hours on Tuesday to make sure she was feeling okay, and Bruce and Lacey had also called a couple of times. Although she felt very loved that so many people were checking in on her, by Wednesday, Gwen was glad to be back at work – having a concussion was boring. 

Besides, when Steve came in, Gwen was glad she was there to see Lacey with her new boyfriend for the first time. The two of them glowed at each other. It was too freaking cute. 

“I’m going to go into the back to grab more…napkins. Steve, can you help me carry some?” Steve obediently started following Lacey to the back room. 

“But there are plenty of napkins, they’re right the—” was all Gwen heard Steve say before Lacey pulled him into the back room and closed the door. 

As soon as they were in the back, Lacey got on her tiptoes, slipped her arms around Steve’s neck and kissed him. He returned the kiss eagerly, wrapping his arms around her waist. When Lacey pulled away, Steve looked like he wanted her lips back on his. 

“What’d you do that for?” 

“What, a girl isn’t allowed to kiss her handsome boyfriend just because she wants to?” 

“I mean why did you stop?” He asked, then pulled her back in for another kiss. 

The couple emerged five minutes later each carrying a few packages of napkins. They put them down behind the counter and Gwen looked at the overabundance of napkins, then looked at Lacey and Steve. 

“Nice lipstick, that’s a good shade on you,” Gwen said to Steve. The two blushed as they realized that Lacey’s red lipstick had rubbed off on Steve’s mouth. He grabbed one of the many napkins and wiped his lips, then went off to look at books. “You know, you could have just told me you wanted to make out with your hot boyfriend instead of bringing out way too many napkins,” Gwen told Lacey. 

“Sorry.” 

“No, I’m so proud of you! Just, if you want to make out again, don’t bring any more napkins.” 

“Fair enough.” 

Tony appeared and ordered his usual latte with his face drawn on it. He was lucky Lacey was pretty good at coffee art. When Tony had sat down with his coffee, Steve came back to the counter and pulled something out of his pocket. 

“I almost forgot – you left this at my house when you spent the night,” he showed her the small flower hair clip that she had left in his bathroom. 

“Oh, thank you!” 

“WOOAHHH, hold it right there,” Tony said. He pointed to Steve’s chest. “Explain.” 

“Uh…we were snowed in.” Steve looked to Lacey for help, but she had gotten embarrassed and scampered off somewhere, so Gwen was the only one to be seen. “I slept on the couch. She had my bed.” 

“You slept on your own couch when you had a girl in your bed? You have much to learn, grasshopper,” Tony told him, and Steve wasn’t sure why he was being called an insect, but he blushed at the implication of what he should have done with a girl in his bed, according to Tony. Unfortunately, Pepper wasn’t there to punish her boyfriend.

*****

That evening, there was a heavy rainstorm. Loki came in, soaking wet in his green button-up shirt and black overcoat. Gwen was happy to see him. 

“How is your head?” He asked. 

“Much, better, thank you.” The two looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, and Lacey pretended to be cleaning up. 

“Gwen, I—”

“Fair Gwendolyn!” Thor thundered as he burst into the shop. He made a few strides toward her. “Brother, if you do not mind, I wish to speak to Gwendolyn alone.” 

Gwen looked back and forth between the two faces. Finally, she looked at Loki, knowing he’d be more likely to be the patient one, although she was much more interested in what he had to say. 

“I’ll just be a minute,” she told him softly. 

Thor followed her over near the bookshelves, and Gwen didn’t realize that it was still within Loki’s hearing range, especially since Thor didn’t exactly know how to do an inside voice. 

“Darling Gwendolyn. I have enjoyed these past weeks, and I would like to have you as my romantic companion!” Gwen looked at him, kind of surprised, then heard the bell on the door jingle. She turned and surveyed the store, and Loki was nowhere to be found. Gwen was suddenly aware that she was completely in love with him. Without answering Thor, without grabbing a coat, she ran outside and was instantly soaked from the rain. 

“Loki!” She shouted, running after him. “Loki! Wait!” He turned around abruptly. 

“WHAT?” he shouted at her. “Why do you mock me? You pretend to bond with me over the neglect of our families and discuss mythology, when all this time, you’ve made your choice.” He was still shouting, but not angrily – it was hurt in his voice. Gwen couldn’t tell if there were tears mixed with the raindrops streaming down his face, but she suspected there were. Suddenly finding himself unable to look at her, Loki turned his head. Gwen placed her hand on his cheek and turned him back to look at her. 

“I’m standing in front of my choice.” 

Loki still held back, still didn’t kiss her, still didn’t dare hope to believe her. Instead, he quoted a poem: “Hades to Persephone” by Lee Ann Shaffer. 

“Convince me that you want to be here; / It’s not my trick that keeps you so near. / You chose me. You love me. This is real. / No silly seven seeds sealed the deal.” 

“Loki. I chose you. I love you. No tricks or seeds or pomegranate martinis made this decision for me. There is nowhere I’d rather be right now than here with you.” 

Loki choked back a sob before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him, covering her mouth with his. Despite the cold rain covering both of their faces, Loki’s lips were surprisingly warm on hers. Gwen’s hands moved to the back of his head as she tangled her fingers in the wet strands of his hair, kissing him back with equal passion. It was a kiss of longing, of desperation, and of clarity. All the confusion both of them had experienced in the last few weeks flew away, and it was just two people who finally felt good enough for each other. 

*****

Inside the store, Thor stared at the closed door when Gwen had left. He turned to Lacey. 

“She did not give me an answer.” 

“Thor,” Lacey put her hand on his arm sympathetically, “her answer is no. I think she’s in love with your brother.” 

“With Loki? I do not understand. I gave her countless gifts. Did she not like them?” 

“Thor, she doesn’t want someone who just buys her things. She wants to be loved for who she is. Loki knows her and understands her. Although the things you gave her were nice, they weren’t personalized. You didn’t take the time to get to know her.” 

“Oh.” Thor looked thoughtful. This seemed like completely new information to him. Lacey patted his arm in condolence, and Thor slowly walked out, clearly still mulling over this discovery.


	18. In Which Lacey Refuses to Be Defeated and a Good Time is Had in the Bookstore

It was Sunday and Lacey had bundled up in thick gray tights, a warm purple dress, and her peacoat. Steve had showed up in a flannel shirt, khakis, and his leather coat and told her he was taking her out for the day. They got to his motorcycle and Lacey was excited, but a little nervous. She had never ridden on a motorcycle before. Steve gave her a helmet and she got on in back of him, glad that she had put on tights that day. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and felt safe. 

They had a bit of a drive, but eventually he was pulling onto the Staten Island Ferry. They went up into the passenger section and found some seats where they could look out on the water. By this time, Lacey had to go to the bathroom after the long drive, so she excused herself for a few minutes. When she came back, she was horrified to find that Steve wasn’t alone. Sitting across from him was a girl with huge boobs in a tight, low-cut top and long, firey red curls cascading down her shoulders. Lacey’s heart lurched for a moment. No, she thought. Not Raquel. Anyone but Raquel. She could only see Steve from the back, so she couldn’t gauge his reaction to the ginger-haired vixen. 

In college, Raquel had been the bane of Lacey’s romantic life. Every boyfriend she’d had and every guy she’d liked had always inevitably been unable to resist Raquel. Lacey started to tear up. Steve was the best guy she’d ever been in a relationship with, and things were going so well. What did she do to deserve this – Raquel swooping in and taking yet another guy from her? But then, Lacey remembered something. She wasn’t the insecure, passive girl she was in college. She was a successful small business owner and there was no reason for her to lose her man to some trashy bimbo. She went over, sat down next to Steve, and put her hand on his knee – a possessive gesture in the language of girl wars. He looked a little surprised, but not like he minded. 

“Lacey McMannis! I thought that was you. I was just telling your boyfriend here what good friends we were in college. Do you remember? It’s a shame we didn’t keep in touch.” 

Lacey immediately recognized Raquel’s old trick. It went like this: Raquel would pretend that she and Lacey were friends. Lacey wouldn’t be able to deny it for fear of looking like a bitch in front of the guy. The guy would think Raquel is “really nice,” and Raquel would find some way of running into him again. She would get them talking about Lacey, and Raquel would slowly sink her claws into the guy while making subtle jabs that made him see Lacey in a less-flattering light. Then, before Lacey knew it, her man would be out of her arms and run right into Raquel’s waiting clutches. 

“Raquel! Of course I remember you from college. I didn’t know you lived in New York now.” Lacey decided she wouldn’t play her little game. She’d be civil, she’d be honest, but she wasn’t going to fall for Raquel’s pathetic tricks any more. 

“I don’t, I’m just visiting Jason. Do you remember him? You guys used to be so close, I wonder what happened.” Jason was Lacey’s most recent ex, although that was a few years ago. She had loved him, but apparently he didn’t feel the same way, since he happily scampered off with Raquel. 

“Of course I remember. Are you two still together?” Lacey asked. Raquel looked slightly disconcerted for a second. She was used to making Lacey squirm, but Lacey genuinely seemed apathetic, even at the mention of Jason, who had been Raquel’s greatest conquest. 

“No, but we’re still great friends. Do you ever talk to him?” Raquel was trying to rub it in, but honestly, Lacey couldn’t care less about Jason any more. 

“No, I don’t talk to anyone from college any more except Gwen.” 

“Well, that’s a shame. Jason was just talking about you the other day. I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.” 

Lacey knew what Raquel was doing. She was trying to get Lacey to miss the good ol’ days with Jason. Now that Raquel was done with him, Lacey could have him back, all used up. If Lacey chased Jason back, Raquel would easily be able to move in on Steve. Furthermore, if Steve started to question whether Lacey still wasn’t over her ex, Raquel would be able to comfort him. 

On Steve’s part, he looked at Lacey curiously. He was rather interested in this Jason, and he, for some reason, really didn’t like this “friend” of Lacey’s. He had the distinct feeling that the redhead was trying to get Lacey’s goat, and he didn’t like anyone who wanted to hurt her. 

“I don’t care about Jason anymore, Raquel. We’re both different people now, and I have my own life. I own a bookstore and café, I live with my best friend, I’m with Steve, and I am happy.” Lacey finished her statement with a quick kiss on Steve’s cheek, being unable to resist giving Raquel just that little dig. 

Raquel was clearly defeated. She gave Lacey a snotty look, said “I have to go,” and left. 

Steve just looked down at Lacey’s face questioningly. She explained her past with Jason and Raquel. She told Steve that she was afraid Raquel was going to take him away from her too. 

“Nobody could do that,” Steve assured her. “There isn’t any woman who’s as beautiful, caring, and interesting as you are.” He took a quick look around to make sure no one was looking, then gave her a quick kiss. Lacey was the only one who noticed that Raquel had seen it, and couldn’t help but smile at her old acquaintance’s chagrin. 

The couple got off the ferry and took the motorcycle to their destination. They removed their helmets and Lacey realized they were at a Harvest Carnival on Staten Island. They walked around, holding hands and looking at the available games, prizes, and activities, sharing a large fluffy cloud of cotton candy. 

“Shoot five ducks, get a prize!” a voice shouted. Lacey saw Raquel flirting with a young man, trying to talk him into winning her something. 

“Young lady, wouldn’t you like your boyfriend to win you a nice teddy bear?” the guy yelled at Lacey, although she was just a few feet away from him. 

“I’d rather win the big robot,” Lacey said honestly. 

“He’d have to shoot ten ducks to get the big robot,” the guy said, smugly. 

“I can win my own robot,” Lacey said. Steve looked a little surprised, and couldn’t keep a grin from sneaking up onto his face. He handed the guy a few coins, curious to see how Lacey handled a gun, even if it was just a toy one. By this point, Raquel had turned and was watching Lacey, expecting her to back down. She didn’t think Lacey had it in her. The cocky duck shooter attendant held a gun out to Lacey, and she snatched it out of his hand. Obnoxious music started playing while ducks wiggled back and forth. There were 40 available ducks to be shot, Lacey needed to get a quarter of them in a minute. Taking aim, she began shooting. 

The minute passed and the annoying music ceased. The attendant looked a combination of mildly annoyed and impressed. Steve couldn’t stop a smirk from forming on his face. Raquel raised an eyebrow. 

“You hit…fifteen ducks,” the attendant said in disbelief. He gave Lacey her big robot as well as a small, squeaky teddy bear – she had shot enough ducks to win both. As she and Steve walked by Raquel, Lacey thrust the bear into the redhead’s massive chest. It squeaked sadly as it was given to its new owner. Raquel took the bear wordlessly and stared after Steve and Lacey, her mouth hanging open. When they were out of earshot, Steve put his arms around Lacey, impressed. 

“Where’d you learn to shoot like that?” 

“I didn’t. That was pure dumb luck. I thought I was going to make a fool of myself.” 

“Well, you’re a natural.” 

“Thank goodness for that. It would have been pretty embarrassing to fail.” 

“I can’t imagine you ever failing at something you’ve made up your mind to do.”

When it started to get dark, they jumped on a hay ride. As Steve and Lacey cuddled into each other to keep warm, they both realized that neither one of them had been happier in a long time. 

****

One night, Gwen was set to close the store and Lacey left early. Loki was there with Gwen and decided to just stay while she was closing up because they were going to do something together after. Gwen was wearing Loki’s favorite shirt on her, a green one that hugged her curves. Loki was wearing a black button-up shirt and his green and gold scarf. Loki disappeared for a few minutes, presumably to go to the bathroom, and Gwen was left alone, shelving books. The doors were already locked for the night, and she was simply making sure that everything was settled in so that when they opened the next morning, the amount of work would be minimal. 

While Gwen was among the bookshelves, she suddenly felt the warmth of a body behind her, and Loki’s long, thin fingers were placed over her shoulders, resting on her collar bone. Then she felt his warm breath on her ear, his lips just an inch away. 

“It is not very nice of you to tantalize me with that green shirt and the ponytail,” he whispered. Gwen trembled as she felt his words in her ear. A moment later, Loki had let go of her and was stepping in front of her slowly. One hand was wrapped around the end of his scarf, and he slowly, slowly slid it off of his neck. Grabbing the other end with his free hand, he put it over Gwen’s head and around her neck, then used it to draw her face to his. When his mouth was just a breath’s length away from hers, he stopped. Letting out a breath, Gwen tried to lean her head up to kiss him, but he drew back. 

“No, no. Not yet,” he said in a low, sexy growl. “First, you must learn what it’s like to be teased like that.” He began kissing his way down her neck, then ran his tongue along her collar bone. Gwen began breathing heavily, desperately wanting his lips on hers. However, he still didn’t allow it. First, he put his hands on her hips and firmly pushed her against the bookshelf behind her, pressing his body against hers. Once more, he leaned in with his mouth close to her ear, and whispered. 

“Who is your Master?” He bit her earlobe, hard enough to be effective, but not enough to be uncomfortable. Her knees buckled and she probably would have turned into a puddle on the floor if he hadn’t been pressed against her. 

“You are, Loki,” she gasped desperately. 

“Very good,” he said, his mouth once again hovering over her lips. Now that she was trembling with desire and at his mercy, Loki felt she could be rewarded. He lowered his mouth to hers, running his hands along her body. Gwen reached up and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, controlling the way her mouth was exploring his. Her hands slid down his body and pulled the hem of his shirt out of the waistband of his black pants, and she began undoing one of the buttons as his hand started to slide under her shirt. That was when the bell on the door jingled. 

They broke apart, breathing heavily, and Loki, frustrated with the interruption, jumped out from behind the shelf to see who dared to intrude on the passionate moment. Gwen followed him out of the shelves and saw Lacey, standing awkwardly with her eyes wide. Her wallet was in her hand. Lacey noticed a blush form on Gwen’s cheeks as she tried to straighten out the mess her hair was in, and also noticed that Loki’s shirt was incredibly disheveled. To top it off, Loki’s scarf was dangling around Gwen’s neck. 

“Uh…I forgot my wallet…” Lacey said, completely mortified. Gwen started to go behind the shelves as Lacey was leaving, and the last thing Lacey saw as she closed the door was Loki being pulled into the shelves again by his own scarf.


	19. In Which Closure is Achieved

Gwen didn’t see Thor for a few weeks, but one day he came into the bookstore and ordered a hazelnut latte. When Gwen was done making it, Thor looked at her apologetically. 

“Gwendolyn, at first I was jealous when you chose my brother over me. However, I see now that you are a good match for him. I am happy he has somebody like you, with whom he can relate. It is a comfort to know that he has someone to care for him and keep him from causing discord.” 

“Thanks, Thor.” 

Loki appeared at that moment, and as Thor made his way to his table, he walked by Loki and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Brother, you are most fortunate to have such an enchanting romantic companion. You have shown yourself capable of caring for someone and have won her affection through knowledge of what brings her happiness. You deserve her, brother.” 

With those words, Loki finally received the approval he had always craved. He was not only worthy of the heart of the woman he loved, but his brother was also finally envious for something he had. 

*****

When Steve and Lacey had been dating for around seven months, they were watching Singin’ in the Rain. They were cuddled on his couch and he was playing with her hair. Suddenly, he felt the need to say something. He didn’t know why, but it had to be said right then. 

“Lacey?” He sat up slightly so that she would turn to face him. 

“Yes?” 

Steve touched the side of her face, looking into her eyes. He kissed her with everything he felt, pouring his heart out for her to keep. When he finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead on hers, pausing to take a deep breath. 

“I love you,” he whispered. 

Lacey smiled and played with the hair on the back of his head. 

“I love you too, Steve.” 

They kissed again with all the love they both felt, and in that moment, they knew they had a long future ahead of them full of adventures that they would go through together.


	20. In Which This is the Scene After the Credits

The Avengers assembled in the coffee shop to discuss throwing Nick Fury a surprise party for his birthday. Tony was taking bets on how many curse words would spew from the S.H.I.E.L.D. leader’s mouth when he was surprised. Lacey joined the group and sat on Steve’s lap while Loki and Gwen stood near the counter listening, their arms around each other. 

Out of nowhere, Tony reached over Clint to snap Bruce’s arm with a rubber band. 

“Ow! Dammit, Tony!” Bruce said, rubbing his arm. Clint turned his head to Tony, and said, very seriously: 

“Pipe the fuck down.”


End file.
